Toybox Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive with smiles on their faces as the manager welcomes them warmly. They form close attachments with caring staff, who know them well. This helps children to feel safe. Children have lots of opportunities for physical play. They move around happily and confidently in the large outdoor space using a range of bikes. Managers use funding carefully. For example, on discovering the need for more physical activity, they purchase more outdoor climbing apparatus. This enables children to practise balancing, climbing and manoeuvring in different ways. Staff organise physical challenges for families to participate in at home, such as 'exercise of the week'. Managers also involve the nursery in community step challenges to encourage families to be more active. This benefits children and they make good progress with their physical development.

Children's behaviour is good. They show respect towards their friends. During imaginative play with construction tools, children politely ask, 'Please can I have the saw?' Staff have high expectations for all children. Older children enjoy learning about the life cycle of frogs. They show how they count out food for their tadpoles. Children enthusiastically announce that the tadpoles will soon get legs and turn into froglets, demonstrating the knowledge they have retained.

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

• Children confidently engage in discussions with staff as they pretend to prepare breakfast. They are encouraged to think about their own experiences as staff pose questions to them about how their breakfast is prepared at home. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to communicate through sign language, objects of reference and picture cards. All children make progress with their communication skills.
• Parent partnership is a strength. Parents report that they feel included in their children's learning. Managers organise stay-and-play sessions and home learning activities. Staff share observations and assessments to keep parents informed about their children's development. Parents appreciate being able to share their own observations and comments with staff verbally and through online software. This enables children to receive consistent care and support for their learning.
• Children enjoy regularly sharing books with their friends. They eagerly listen to a story about 'The Gingerbread Man', confidently joining in with familiar phrases. Staff make stories interactive to capture children's attention. For example, children run around the garden to act out parts of the story. Children demonstrate good self-regulation. They calmly rejoin the staff member to listen to the next part of the story. This helps children to build a love of books and practise listening skills ready for school.
• Children visit a local residential home for older people to deliver pictures they have made for the residents. They join them in making flags for the King's Coronation and talk about jobs they used to have. This helps children to learn about people who are different from themselves and build an understanding of diversity.
• Children develop good independence skills. Young children learn to feed themselves confidently with spoons and drink from cups. Older children enjoy the responsibility of taking it in turns to deliver lunch to their friends and use jugs to pour themselves drinks. Staff praise children regularly, which helps to promote their confidence and self-esteem.
• Managers use supervision meetings to discuss training opportunities and targets to improve staff's practice. They encourage staff to have confidence in their abilities and to take up new opportunities for personal development. Managers are reflective and identify areas to improve on. For example, this month they are focusing on emotional development and mental health. Staff use puppets throughout the day to talk to children about feelings. Children are beginning to develop an understanding of their emotions.
• Staff do not always consider how to organise some group activities so that children remain engaged and challenged in their learning. At times, staff's interactions do not support children to explore and experiment further. As a result children, some children lose interest and do not make the best possible progress in their learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support all staff to provide deeper learning opportunities that inspire children to experiment and explore their ideas further.