Whitwick Day Nursery and Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children develop positive relationships with staff. In the baby room, staff praise children for smiling at them, saying, 'That is a lovely smile' and smiling back. This helps children to feel valued as individuals. Children in the pre-school room say that staff make them happy when they read them favourite books. Staff implement daily routines for children to follow, helping them to feel safe and secure. For example, staff play familiar music when they ask children to tidy away toys before the routine changes in the nursery and pre-school room. Children recognise the music in the pre-school room and tell visitors, 'I know that song; it is the tidy up song.' This provides children with consistency, familiarity and how to follow the rules when they move rooms.

Children are keen to explore and investigate the toys and resources staff offer them. They are excited to engage in activities staff plan for them. For example, staff follow children's interests to post letters. Children in the pre-school room are asked to make their own pretend letters and post them in a red box. Staff help children to learn what happens to the letters, such as when they go to the sorting office, learning about people's occupations. Staff help children to know, recognise and draw numbers from children's addresses, supporting their understanding of the house number where they live. Pre-school children are asked to remember previous learning, such as to recognise the people on stamps, for example, the King and previously the Queen.

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

• The manager and staff plan a curriculum that supports children to progress in their learning. For example, they help children to develop their communication and language skills. In the baby room, staff use sign language to support children's understanding of the words they use. In the toddler room, staff encourage children to blow mixture to create bubbles, helping children to develop the muscles in their mouths for making speech sounds.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well by staff. They have targeted plans in place to meet their individual needs. Staff liaise with school teachers to share detailed information with them about children's individual needs before they start school. This helps to provide consistency in their care and learning.
• Staff share information about children's development with parents through an online application and discussions. The manager provides books for children to take home, encouraging parents to read to their children. This helps to provide consistency between home and the nursery to support children's learning.
• Staff implement rules and boundaries to help children understand what is expected of them. In the baby room, staff are skilled at using distraction, such as providing more books when children want the same one. Staff model using good manners for children to copy to promote positive behaviour.
• Staff say that they feel very well supported with their well-being. They attend supervision meetings with the manager to reflect on their practice. However, staff have not been supported to extend their knowledge of how they can more precisely support children who speak English as an additional language. This is to help identify ways staff can support children's language skills further.
• Children are supported by staff to learn skills for the future, such as to be independent with their self-care skills. Staff ask children in the pre-school room to get a tissue to wipe their own noses, disposing of the tissue in the bin. They give children gentle reminders to wash their hands afterwards to promote good hygiene practises. Children in the nursery and pre-school room serve themselves lunch and pour their own drinks.
• Staff offer children a nutritious range of meals and drinks. Children in the toddler room have opportunities to learn about healthy foods in their role-play experiences. Children in the pre-school room help staff to plant and grow vegetables in the garden, learning how food grows.
• Staff have a good knowledge of their key children's learning and development needs. They observe children to assess what they know and can do and identify what their key children need to learn next. However, this information is not always shared fully across the staff team. At times during play, other staff do not recognise how best to help some children with their learning. Therefore, sometimes children do not make the most progress they are capable of.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to extend their knowledge of how to more precisely support children who speak English as an additional language with their language development
• strengthen the sharing of information between children's key persons and other staff so that children's learning is further supported during play.