What A Hoot Day Nursery Bedlington

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive eager to start their day at the nursery. They have good relationships with staff, which helps them to settle quickly and feel safe. Staff support children's independence well. For example, children are encouraged to tidy up after themselves and select their own activities and resources. Younger children enjoy small group time. They show high levels of confidence and concentration as they take part in planned activities. For instance, children interact enthusiastically with staff and their friends as they take turns putting coloured cars down a ramp.

Overall, children play well on their own and, at times, seek out their friends and staff to join in their games. For example, in the garden they have fun pretending to go to the beach on the wooden bus. Staff skilfully weave in counting as they ask children to count out their bus fare. They support children to learn to count to 10. This helps to develop children's mathematical skills. Staff have high expectations of children. They build on children's self-esteem and confidence through praise and encouragement. Staff encourage children to take appropriate risks and challenges, for example by supporting children to climb and balance on tires and wooden planks as they negotiate the obstacle course.

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

• Staff know their key children well. They use their knowledge of children's interests and development to plan a curriculum that extends children's learning. However, some staff are at an early stage of understanding curriculum intentions and focus on what children might learn from activities, rather than what they are going to teach.
• Overall, staff interact well with children. However, staff do not consistently encourage quieter children to join in activities. This means that staff miss opportunities to extend learning experiences for quieter children.
• Staff encourage children to remember the rules in nursery. For example, children know they need to use their 'walking feet' when inside. Furthermore, staff encourage children to discuss how they are feeling and give each other positive affirmations, such as 'I am strong'. Children are beginning to manage their own feelings. When children struggle with regulating their behaviour, staff take action to support them. Children are developing a sense of right and wrong.
• Staff support children to develop their small-muscle skills. Young children use spoons and spatulas to mix mud and water. Older children make marks in paint with sponges and brushes, and use tongs to pick up small shells in the sand. These activities help to develop children's physical skills that are needed for later writing.
• Partnerships with parents are a strength of the setting. Parents know what their child is learning, even though they cannot come into the setting due to the
• COVID-19 (coronavirus) restrictions. Staff share information with parents daily, through an online system. This helps parents to understand how children's learning can be further supported at home. Parents are very complimentary of the setting. They comment that their children have 'come on leaps and bounds' since starting at the setting.
• The manager and her team work well with other professionals to ensure that all children, especially those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or children who speak English as an additional language, are well supported.
• Leadership is good. The manger understands how to support her team through regular supervision sessions and staff meetings. She carries out regular observations of her staff team and provides them with ongoing support and training. The manager is fully aware of maintaining staff well-being. She has introduced well-being jars to encourage staff to write supportive notes to one another.
• Staff place a strong priority on children's communication and language development. They skilfully introduce new words to describe what children do. Staff ask questions that encourage children to think and develop their ideas. They express their ideas clearly and use a wide range of words. For instance, children confidently discuss what they would take on a trip to the beach.
• Staff provide children with range of healthy meals and snacks. They use these opportunities to give consistent messages to children about making healthy choices.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to further develop their understanding of the curriculum, so that they are aware of the specific learning intentions for individual children
• support staff to identify the quieter children to ensure that they have the same learning experiences as the more confident children.