Tree Tots Day Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy to arrive at this friendly and welcoming nursery. They follow the routines well and demonstrate positive behaviour. Staff remind children of the expectations, and children remind each other of the rules, such as how many children can play in each area. When minor disagreements occur, staff encourage children to find their own resolutions. In the pre-school, most children can manage conflict for themselves. For example, when more children join a dough activity, children share out the dough independently so that all children have some. Children are learning to cooperate and play well together.

Children have formed close bonds with staff who know them well. Children are encouraged to be independent. They hang up their personal belongings and help to tidy toys away. Babies confidently select the resources that interest them. They learn to feed themselves with increasing skill, while older children perfect their skills using cutlery. Staff give lots of praise and encouragement to support children's self-confidence and self-esteem.

Children demonstrate positive attitudes towards their learning. Staff are clear about what they want children to learn as they encourage younger children to make marks in flour with toy cars. Children giggle as staff blow flour into the air. Older children invite others into their play and say 'Let's play here and build the biggest tower.' They laugh as the tower topples over and they work together to build it again. Children have fun and make good progress in all areas of their development.

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

• Children are provided with many opportunities to practise their physical skills. Children confidently walk on stilts and negotiate obstacles when riding bikes. Younger children crawl through tunnels and use low-level storage and play equipment to pull themselves up. Children's physical skills are supported well.
• Staff support children's language development well. Staff model clear pronunciation and frequently introduce new vocabulary such 'spiky' and 'sharp.' Children enjoy sharing stories and singing familiar rhymes and songs with staff. Children are becoming confident communicators.
• Staff support children's mathematical skills well. Staff introduce language such as 'big' and 'small' as they encourage children to compare the size of toy tractors. Children use words such as 'tiny' and explain that this means something is small. Older children enjoy lotto games with staff. They recognise numbers up to 10 and shout 'Bingo!' as they match all of the numbers. Children are making good progress in their mathematical development.
• Staff support children to develop a healthy lifestyle. Children are provided with healthy meals, and they talk about peas making them strong. Staff share stories and talk with children about the importance of good oral health. Children enjoy lots of exercise and fresh air to support their physical skills and well-being. They are beginning to understand what it means to be healthy.
• Parents are complimentary about the nursery. They state that they value the different ways staff involve them in their children's learning, for example through parents' evenings and daily discussions. Parents have noticed improvements with their children's development since they have been attending and say their children have become more confident and sociable.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. Staff are confident to identify when children may benefit from extra help with their development. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works closely with parents and other professionals to create individual plans that are consistently implemented by staff. Children with SEND make good progress from their starting points.
• Leaders ensure that staff receive support in their roles with a focus on their well-being. However, these performance management systems are not focused sharply enough. For example, some weaknesses in the organisation of daily routines have gone unnoticed. Leaders' self-evaluation is not fully effective in identifying these minor weaknesses and addressing them through targeted professional development opportunities.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance performance management processes to include focused areas for development for staff so that minor weaknesses in practice are swiftly identified and addressed
• further develop accurate self-evaluation that drives continuous improvements, to maintain and build on the good quality practice and provision.