Wellybobs Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are greeted with enthusiasm by friendly staff. They confidently say goodbye to their parents at the door. There are highly effective settling-in arrangements alongside a well-established key-person system. This ensures children are happy and transition through each of the rooms with ease. Attentive staff know each child exceptionally well. This allows them to plan a range of exciting and engaging activities. Babies' routines are particularly well supported. As a result, children are happy and content.

Makaton is deeply embedded within the curriculum to further support children's communication skills. Children learn new signs each week during group times. Staff report this has also had a benefit on children's behaviour, particularly those who cannot yet communicate verbally. Additional funding is used effectively to ensure it supports children it is allocated for. As a result, all children make excellent progress. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. Staff skilfully support interactions between children. They teach children to ask each other for a turn once the other has finished with a toy. Children and staff show high levels of respect for each other. For example, children kindly point out where their friends can get a paintbrush from.

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

• Managers and leaders have developed a highly ambitious curriculum that is based on 'promises' they have made to children. This ensures a well-sequenced plan as children move through the nursery. Regular and thorough assessments mean that any concerns are addressed at an early stage and correct support can be put into place. Staff skilfully plan engaging activities to support gaps in learning. For example, children enjoy developing their knowledge of shape while practising their scissor skills.
• Staff plan a range of exciting activities to further support children's wider experiences. For example, children have visited a local kitchen to learn how food is prepared. Visits from ice-cream vans have provided some children with new experiences. During mealtimes, children are shown what pasta looks like before it is cooked. Staff explain how it becomes softer when cooked in water. This supports children's understanding of the food we eat.
• Managers and staff continuously reflect on practice to ensure they are meeting the needs of all children. For example, they have recently moved around rooms based on parents' feedback to ensure they can fully support children in toilet training. Staff enthusiastically talk about recent changes they have made. They explain how these changes have had a positive impact on children's development and learning.
• Highly focused professional development opportunities ensure staff feel well supported in their role. Staff and managers regularly evaluate each other's practice. Managers provide clear targets and guidance to practitioners to develop their practice to the highest level. Staff thrive on additional roles and responsibilities they have been given. As a result, staff morale is exceptionally high, and staff report high levels of well-being. Robust recruitment and induction processes ensure new staff feel confident in their role and welcomed.
• Children develop a range of self-care and independence skills. They are supported to wipe their own nose, using a mirror until they can do this independently. Staff teach children how to keep safe in the nursery. For example, they explain how to use and carry scissors safely.
• Children enjoy a wide range of stories. They snuggle up with staff and talk about their favourite books. Some activities are planned around a story of the month. For example, stories based around winter lead to activities exploring ice. This is further extended to develop physical skills by breaking the ice with hammers and exploring the changes as the ice melts.
• Feedback from parents and grandparents is overwhelmingly positive. Parents speak extremely highly of the nursery and the support they receive. Parents value the regular meetings they have with their child's key person. These meetings provide opportunities for parents to receive updates on their child's development. Likewise, parents keep staff up to date with any changes at home and share reviews completed by other professionals such as health visitors.