Treetops Sutton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children's singing, laughter and happy voices can be heard around the building. Their eagerness to play fills the air in this vibrant nursery. Children have a positive start to their education. They develop a range of knowledge and skills through good-quality teaching and the stimulating environment. Children respond well to the high expectations set by staff. They explore, create and make independent choices about their play.

Children are kind and polite. They are encouraged to use good manners. Children are settled and safe at the setting. They develop good coordination and control of their movements. For example, babies have plenty of space to practise skills such as crawling, walking and pulling themselves up to stand. Older children eagerly explore as they climb, play with hoops, jump and run. They enjoy the space and fresh air in the garden. Children show positive attitudes towards their learning and explore their own ideas. For instance, they excitedly develop their creativity and imagination. They are supported well to be confident. Children show respect and value staff and each other. They behave well. Consistent strategies help children to understand what is expected of them, such as saying 'please' and 'thank you'.

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

• Managers are passionate in their mission to provide high-quality childcare in an enriched learning environment. Their aim is to give children the best start in their educational journey. The views of children, parents and staff inform the evaluation, helping managers to reflect on how to further improve.
• Staff provide children with a curriculum that follows children's interests and builds on their existing knowledge. For example, they know that children are very interested in role play. They introduce a wide variety of interesting resources for them to explore and enjoy. Staff support children to learn and develop their vocabulary. However, staff need to improve the implementation of what children need to learn next to fully enhance children's development and support them to make even quicker progress in their learning.
• Staff support children to develop their vocabulary well. For example, they introduce words, such as 'mixing', 'pouring' and 'more', as they pretend to make tea. Staff narrate what babies do and repeat key words for younger children. They ask older children many questions and allow children time to think and respond. At times, staff clearly repeat what children say, so they can hear the correct pronunciation of words. Children join in songs and stories, which effectively expand their communication and language skills, supporting them to become confident talkers.
• Children develop good independence and learn about healthy lifestyles. For example, older children pour their own water and feed themselves with a knife and fork, while babies easily access resources. Children have daily exercise outdoors. Meals are healthy and nutritious. Children's dietary needs are effectively promoted. Older children are provided with appropriate resources to learn about brushing their teeth. Staff consistently follow good hygiene practices, which helps to promote children's good health.
• Children learn about shapes, colours and different mathematical language, such as 'full' and 'enough'. They learn to count and understand amounts, such as how many items they have. However, occasionally, opportunities to expand older children's ability to solve simple number problems lack the full promotion of their knowledge.
• Parents are happy with the care that their children receive. They praise the communication that they receive and 'friendly' staff team. Parents comment that their children 'make good progress'. Strong parent partnerships help to promote continuity between home and the nursery, and effectively build on children's learning.
• An effective programme of training and support helps staff to maintain high levels of well-being. It allows them to reflect and continue to improve their practice. Staff say that they 'enjoy working at the nursery'.
• Children are well supported to understand about the wider world. For instance, they celebrate different cultural festivals and events, which effectively promote respect and tolerance.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide further support for staff to consider the implementation of the curriculum to help children achieve the most from their learning experiences
• use simple number problems during older children's play to help extend their mathematical skills to the next level.