Twinkle Stars Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Teaching is consistent across all rooms. For example, staff sing the same songs to babies as they do to older children, and they praise them for their involvement with a 'high five'. This helps children to feel safe and secure. During the day, children move between different parts of the building, such as the garden and the dining room. This helps them to become familiar with what will happen when they start school, increasing their confidence and self-esteem.

Staff generally care about children's happiness and well-being. For example, they respond appropriately when babies start to feel unwell, such as giving them a drink and offering a cuddle. This positively contributes towards the strong bonds staff and children demonstrate. Children listen well to staff. They show an active desire to join in with play. For instance, older children learn to take turns. They know that when their name is called, it is their turn.

Children adopt positive attitudes and learn to behave well. For instance, older children cooperate with their peers as they paint together on the same piece of paper. Staff use distraction to support those younger children who find it hard to share, such as providing them with more trains. This quickly defuses the situation and children continue with their learning.

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

• The manager has reflected on the actions that were set at the last inspection to improve the setting. For instance, she has worked closely with staff to ensure that they fully understand their key-person responsibilities. As a result, parents and carers have a primary point of contact to discuss their children's progress and development.
• Staff observe and assess children's learning. They share this information with new key persons to ensure a smooth transition to the next room. Staff know children well and, therefore, plan to meet their personal needs. For example, a sensory tent has been designed as a 'safe space' for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to regulate their emotions.
• Although the curriculum is designed to be led by children, there is scope to enhance this by providing children with more resources to self-select and extend their own ideas. For example, children who are painting pumpkins have limited choice for what colours they can use. As a result, all pumpkins are orange and black. This does not help children to express themselves.
• The manager and the staff have a clear intent for developing children's self-help skills. However, they do not always identify opportunities for children to progress in this area. For instance, most children demonstrate the ability to drink from a cup. However, there are limited opportunities for children to practise. This does not help to promote their school readiness.
• Staff work together to raise their good level of practice higher. For example, more experienced staff offer guidance and support for those less experienced. However, key times during the day are not always organised well. This means that children at times wait while staff carry out routine tasks, such as helping other children to sleep, which takes them away from the group. Consequently, some children become distracted, and they do not always receive the support they need.
• The manager operates an open-door policy for staff to discuss any concerns. There are improvement plans in place to ensure that the setting continues to build on children's outcomes.
• The outdoor curriculum is an extension of what children are learning indoors. For instance, older children revisit a familiar story as they go on a leaf hunt. They exercise their fine- and gross-motor movements as they splash through puddles and collect a variety of coloured leaves that they later explore indoors.
• Staff promote children's communication skills from an early age. For example, they use descriptive words when talking to babies, such as 'squishy' and 'slimy', to explain what the inside of a pumpkin feels like. Staff use what they know about children to ignite conversations, such as their likes and dislikes. This encourages children to talk about their aspirations. They say, 'When I grow up, I want to be a gardener.'

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• evaluate children's experiences to ensure that staff provide them with more choice to self-select and extend their own learning
• provide more opportunities for most-able children to further develop their self-help skills
• build on the organisation of key times of the day to reduce children's waiting times and for staff to maintain their interactions with children.