Wentwood House Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Management and staff provide an engaging environment for children to play and learn in. Children confidently leave their parents at the door and go with staff. They quickly settle in their age-group room and engage in play. Staff know the children well and have built strong bonds with them. This enables children to be confident and develop positive self-esteem. It also assists staff in providing appropriate activities and resources to match children's interests and needs.

Babies' sleep and rest routines follow those agreed with parents. Staff talk to babies to develop their communication skills. They play with children, encouraging their social skills. Staff place resources where children can see them and try to reach them, encouraging their physical development. As children move up through the nursery, staff continue to build on these skills. Toddlers enjoy exploring their creativity, making pictures with crayons and experimenting with paint. Older children demonstrate good imaginations and express them as they create and play with each other.

Children learn through staff's effective teaching to become independent. They become aware of what is expected of them and usually behave well, take turns and share with minimal prompts. Management and staff have a secure understanding of the curriculum and plan learning for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They enable children to develop at their own pace and ensure that they are all making good progress.

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

• Leaders, management and staff demonstrate a strong commitment to providing the best quality care and education for all children. Management oversee the delivery of the curriculum, support staff practice and provide training to ensure that children develop secure foundations for their next stage in learning.
• Management ensure that staff receive training to support children's individual needs. Staff report that training has helped them to manage children's challenging behaviour, promote children's speech and language, and encourage children to express their emotions. Children who require additional help or children with SEND receive good support. The special educational needs coordinator helps staff to implement individualised plans to ensure that these children's needs are met.
• Children enjoy playing and exploring with each other outside, finding soil, twigs and bark to put in their bowls. Staff encourage children to explore and experiment. They hold discussions with children and ask them to talk about what they have found. Staff extend this by asking children to describe colours, numbers and sizes, and seek their understanding of what else they can see in the environment. Staff are consistent in their reminders to children around safety. This helps children to understand about their own safety and that of others.
• Staff regularly provide opportunities for children to gain an awareness of the wider world. Activities, such as participating in special celebrations, international days and charity events, help children to learn about their similarities and differences. Where possible, staff and parents incorporate their own cultural knowledge within these events to make the experiences even more authentic for children.
• Staff ensure that the activities and experiences they provide interest children and build on their existing skills, independence and awareness of healthy lifestyles. For example, children learn how to take care of African snails. Older children confidently explain why they must wash their hands before and after holding them. They explain why it is important to handle them by their shells.
• Parents are positive about the progress that children make and the regular information they receive about their child's development.
• Staff provide a routine for children during the day. Children know what happens before and after meals and where they have their snacks and sleep. Children know why they must put their shoes and high-visibility vests on before going outside, and why they must walk with staff when crossing the carpark. However, staff do not always plan how to effectively deploy themselves during some of these daily transitions. For example, occasionally, they are preoccupied with other tasks, such as getting ready for the next activity or tidying up resources. As a result, some children are left unsure of what to do and in need of reassurance, or get over excited.
• Staff enjoy talking to the children and use some well-considered questions to encourage them to respond and explain what they know. However, at times, staff are too quick to give an answer before the children can, and do not always notice when the children are disengaging with sessions, such as at group times inside or at the end of sessions in the forest area.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the organisation of transitions throughout the day to ensure that children receive consistent support, guidance and engagement at these times
• further develop how staff use their questions and evaluate children's engagement, such as during group sessions, to allow children time to share their answers and remain engaged in their learning.