Wickersley Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive confident and full of smiles at this welcoming nursery. Children are learning to be independent. They tidy up after themselves and respond to prompts and instructions from staff. For example, children wash their hands before lunch. They clear away their own plates and cups with ease. Children are familiar with the nursery routine and what staff expect of them.

Children enjoy a wide range of activities provided for them. They laugh as they bang drums and sing familiar songs. Babies practise taking turns as they roll a ball to a staff member. They put their hands in the air as they guess which way the ball will roll. Children concentrate as they put one block on top of another and name the colours of the blocks.

Children use their imagination as they take part in activities linked to the book 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. They talk about what they would like to find if they climbed a beanstalk. Staff support children's language skills effectively. They model sentences, such as 'If I was to climb a beanstalk, I would like to find...'. This supports children to extend their vocabulary. Children who are getting ready to move from the baby room to the next stage are well prepared. They are able to recall details from familiar books. They recognise characters from their favourite book 'The Gruffalo'. They point at the pictures and say 'owl', 'fox' and 'ice cream'.

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

• Children's behaviour is generally good. Staff promote good behaviour as they encourage children to use 'kind hands' and to take turns. Staff use praise to encourage good behaviour that enables children to know what is right and wrong.
• Staff know the children well. They understand children's different ages and stages of development and plan group activities with these in mind. Children listen with interest as staff talk about the weather outside. Children answer questions about what they should wear outdoors. They talk about needing hats, scarfs, coats and gloves when it is cold outside.
• Staff are caring and respectful when carrying out care routines. They ask permission to change a child's nappy and talk about what they are doing. When children hurt themselves, staff offer comfort and speak to children calmly. Staff sing soothing songs to children while helping them to sleep. Children build close bonds with the staff who care for them.
• Staff use what they know about children to plan activities that support what they want children to learn next. This helps children to build on existing skills. For example, children use play dough to strengthen the muscles in their hands. Staff then introduce pencils of different sizes for children to practise mark making.
• Partnership with parents is mostly strong. Staff talk to parents when their children first start at the nursery. They find out key information about children's likes and dislikes and what children already know and can do. All children have a key person who regularly updates an online system to inform parents about their children's progress. However, not all parents access the information regularly. This limits some parents' understanding of how they can help their children's learning at home. That being said, this is because parents are not entering the building due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and are not always meeting staff face to face.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are particularly well supported. Managers ensure that staff work with outside agencies such as speech and language therapists. This helps staff to provide children with the support they need. Children with SEND are making good progress in their language and communication.
• Managers have a clear plan of training and support for staff. They recognise individual staff's strengths and weaknesses. As a result, they have implemented peer observations. These give staff the opportunity to learn from other team members' skills. Therefore, staff have enhanced their skills, such as understanding how all children learn. This is helping children to make good progress across all areas of learning.
• Managers access funding to enhance the opportunities available for children. They use funding provided through a childcare voucher scheme to buy extra resources. They consider what they need to support children's next stage in learning. For example, they have provided toys for children to push and pull. This is helping babies to further develop their physical skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• monitor the effectiveness of existing communication methods with parents to ensure that all parents are regularly accessing information about their child, in particular to help them understand their child's next steps in learning.