Town & Country Kiddies

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Babies and children build up very emotionally secure relationships with the caring and thoughtful staff. Since COVID-19 (coronavirus) children's social skills have been highlighted as a priority within the nursery. When children arrive, they are happy and settle quickly. They immediately seek out staff and are keen to share their experiences with them and show good social skills.

Children learn to share, take turns and to be kind to one another. Two-year-olds are polite when they ask their peers for a toy. They behave well and use good manners.

Children demonstrate they are safe as they confidently explore the space available to them indoors and outdoors. Children show excitement when they try to catch bubbles that float in the air. They demonstrate their developing speaking skills and say 'bubbles'. Children show good physical skills. One-year-olds show a positive attitude when they walk on different level surfaces in the garden. They negotiate how to climb over a small wall to get out of the sand pit. Two-year-olds show their strength when they push large tubes forwards and backwards over grass.

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

• The manager tracks the progress that groups of children make. She identifies that children need support with their speech. The manager supports staff to attend training courses that help them to encourage children's speaking skills. They use gestures when they communicate with babies and use simple words when they talk to one-year-olds. The manager refers children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to other agencies for further individual learning support.
• Staff use the curriculum to enhance experiences for children. They encourage children to explore different textures. Children show good hand-and-eye coordination when they use spades to scoop sand into buckets. Some children have not had these experiences previously, such as going to the beach, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Staff encourage children to have a sense of responsibility. For example, when children find a broken handle on a bucket, staff encourage them to try to fix it. Children complete the task and show that they can solve problems. This contributes to raising children's self-esteem and prepares them well for future learning.
• Staff help children to be creative. When children find a frying pan and tell staff they are going to make a 'pancake', staff ask them what ingredients they will need. Children pretend to find eggs and look for flour. This shows their good imaginative skills. However, staff do not help children to build on their understanding of the things that interest them consistently. For example, when children point to the nursery rabbit, staff do not help them to learn more about rabbits, such as what the rabbit eats.
• Staff are sensitive to babies' individual needs. They identify when babies need to eat, sleep and to be changed. When staff change babies' nappies and feed them, they sing nursery rhymes, helping to make this intimate time a positive experience.
• Staff encourage children to learn how they can keep themselves safe. For example, outdoors, they ask children to look on the ground to see if they can see the shade. Children move out of direct sunlight and play in the shade. They behave well, listen and follow instructions.
• Staff support two-year-olds to be independent. They remind them to follow good personal hygiene routines, such as to wash their hands regularly. However, staff do not support one-year-olds consistently to be as independent. For example, they do not always encourage them to wipe their own nose.
• Staff have very positive relationships with parents. They share information with them about children's achievements and care routines daily. Parents are very complimentary about staff. They say that staff are dedicated and make children feel welcome in the nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen interactions with children by using their interests more to build on children's understanding
• strengthen staffs support for one-year-olds, to consistently promote their independence, for example during personal care routines.