Tops Devonport

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children feel safe and secure and confidently explore the variety of spaces inside and outside at this nursery. Children choose what they want to play with and staff encourage them to be active in their own learning. For example, children use their imagination to make bridges out of bricks or pizza out of play dough. Babies and toddlers enjoy playing with water and planting seeds.

Children are well behaved and understand the expectations of the setting. They respond well to the staff and remind each other of the rules as they play. Babies form attachments to staff, who support them and follow their personal routines.

The setting has high expectations and staff support children well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to make good progress in their learning and development. This helps to prepare children with the necessary skills and knowledge for later learning.

The setting has made some changes as a result of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic to ensure children's safety. For instance, parents do not enter the building but they are kept informed via email and staff talk to them about their children outside at collection time.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• The newly appointed manager has a strong ambition to deliver high-quality care and education for all children who attend the setting. She uses additional funding to give children access to outdoor learning at forest school sessions. She has made good progress in her short time at the setting and staff feel well supported.
• Staff provide children with a range of opportunities to develop their physical skills. For example, babies take part in tummy time to support them to crawl and older children use a variety of tools to dig or paint.
• Children have opportunities to learn about the world around them. Babies watch tractors with interest and then play with toy tractors and pretend farms. Older children identify animals and talk about their features.
• Staff encourage children to be independent in their self-help skills and, as a result, children are learning how to take good care of themselves. For example, children pour their own drinks into glasses and serve their own food.
• Staff are responsive to the children and follow their interests. Staff believe that children learn best through their own play and they allow them to do this uninterrupted. Children can access activities that staff plan for them, however, it is not always clear what the staff want the children to learn from these.
• Children can choose to listen to stories with an adult and they talk enthusiastically about the characters in the story. Younger children learn the actions to songs which they repeat at home with their parents.
• Staff are warm and caring towards the children and they treat them with affection. When babies are upset, staff give them cuddles and reassurance.
• The setting has seen a high turnover of staff recently. Leaders have taken swift action to recruit new staff and support them to understand their roles. Staff are beginning to get to know the children and develop strong relationships with them. However, staff are not as confident about identifying what children know and can do, and using this knowledge to plan suitably challenging activities.
• Parents are complimentary about the setting. They praise staff for supporting the routines of babies and sharing behaviour management strategies. They are happy with the opportunities their children have at the setting.
• Staff provide a healthy diet and parents can choose from hot or cold menus for their children at lunchtime, depending on their preferences.
• Children are making good progress in their personal, social and emotional development. Staff provide safe spaces for children to reflect on their feelings and emotions.
• The setting is committed to environmentally friendly practice. They offer reusable nappies for babies and bamboo toothbrushes for all children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the consistency with which staff support children to achieve their next steps
• improve staff knowledge and understanding of individual children's development and what they need to learn next.