William Patten Daycare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish in this nurturing setting. Children arrive happily in the morning alongside their older siblings, who attend the breakfast club. The nursery shares the grounds with the school. Strong partnerships ensure children receive continuity in their care and education. The nursery shares information effectively to ensure a smooth transition when children are ready for school. Babies explore treasure baskets with great attention, using their senses to investigate different textures and objects. Practitioners respond enthusiastically to children's play ideas and skilfully extend their learning. For example, when children show an interest in construction, staff provide a variety of materials that enable them to develop and refine their ideas. Older children become absorbed in constructing models by combining nursery toys with natural and household resources. These activities nurture children's natural curiosity and helps them fully engage in their learning. Children are highly motivated and curious learners.

Babies benefit from strong routines. For example, babies move to the sink to wash their hands in preparation for snack when they are told its time to tidy up because they know what is coming next. These routines support the development of a positive attitude, independence and healthy self-esteem. Older children demonstrate an understanding of healthy lifestyles. For example, they comment that 'the caterpillar ate too much food' and 'it is good to eat all your fruit'. Staff are positive role models and share their expectations for children's behaviour in an age-appropriate way. Children learn to share, take turns and use their good manners throughout the day.

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

• The nursery provides an inclusive environment to meet the individual care and educational needs of all children. Staff know children well and carefully plan activities based on the things they need to learn next. They work with a wide range of other professionals to provide specialised support for all children and their parents. To prepare children for school, teachers from local schools visit the setting. Parents comment that the nursery feels like a 'little community'. They describe the ways in which the nursery helped with their child's learning at home.
• The passionate and effective leaders are reflective and have developed an ambitious curriculum for all children. Children are welcomed into a warm, nurturing environment, where personal, social and emotional development are clearly prioritised.
• Staff are passionate about their roles and demonstrate a commitment to children's well-being and development. They build strong, caring relationships with children, who show they feel secure and confident to explore. However, the arrangements for communication between key persons and parents, particularly at handover times, is not consistently strong to enhance the partnership work further.
• The nursery makes effective use of its small outdoor area. Children are encouraged to take appropriate risks in a safe, supervised environment. Resources such as the sound garden support sustainability and reinforce phonics learning through play.
• Overall, staff support children's literacy skills well in the nursery. They use frequent opportunities to sit and engage children using a range of different books. For example, children attentively listen to stories about current themes, such as life cycles. Babies enjoy making marks on large sheets of paper. This helps them to develop strength in their arms in preparation for later writing. However, at times, older children do not have access to appropriate resources to fully extend their curiosity to explore early writing skills.
• Staff provide children with rich, hands-on learning experiences that deepen their understanding of the world around them. For example, through observing caterpillars, pre-school children gain an understanding of life cycles. Children enthusiastically explain that a caterpillar becomes a cocoon before transforming into a butterfly. Staff skilfully introduce new vocabulary, such as 'moderation', during activities.
• Staff report high levels of well-being and they are appreciative of the support they receive from their manager. As a result, staff morale and retention remain high. Leaders provide regular supervision meetings for staff to identify continuous professional development, which helps maintain high standards of practice across the setting.
• Self-evaluation is effective. The manager has accurately identified weaker areas of the curriculum and has sourced appropriate programmes to address these. This proactive approach supports continuous improvement and ensures that the curriculum evolves to meet children's needs.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the arrangements for communication between key persons and parents, particularly during handover times, to enhance the partnership work further
• review and strengthen the accessibility of appropriate resources to fully extend older children's curiosity to explore early writing skills.