Wilsic Road Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children form strong bonds with staff in this warm and friendly nursery. Babies settle smoothly into the nurturing care of experienced staff and make a positive start to their learning. Staff work well with parents to understand children's interests, needs and routines. Overall, they use this information well to plan, in order to help children make good progress and be well prepared for their future learning. Children learn to be independent and confident in their play. For instance, they design and build their own obstacle courses from wood and tyres to test their balancing skills.

Children feel safe and are very well behaved. They rise to staff's high expectations and strive to be helpful and considerate to others. For instance, children help to set the tables and serve each other with nutritious food at mealtimes and snack times. Children learn to take sensible risks and challenge themselves. Parents appreciate, for example, how children learn to cross the road safely during their frequent nature walks and visits in the local community. Children enjoy the many opportunities for physical activity. For example, they sing and dance as they accompany themselves with musical instruments, and take part in weekly football coaching sessions.

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

• Staff encourage children to develop an enjoyment of books. Children enjoy choosing books on visits to the library. Staff read stories well. However, they do not strategically plan to ensure that children experience a wide range of books to fully enhance their language skills and knowledge of the world.
• Staff know children well. They identify any gaps or delays in children's learning and plan steps to address them. For instance, staff recognised delays in children's social development following the restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, or periods of personal trauma. Staff provide many opportunities for children, such as visits to local shops, meals at the garden centre and sharing games. This helps to develop children's confidence and support them to build friendships.
• Staff introduce children to new words as they play, listen to songs and engage in creative activities. For example, staff help children to name the parts of the dinosaur's body which they create with colourful play dough. For instance, children talk about the 'long tail and enormous wings' of the pterodactyl. Children, including children who speak English as an additional language, make good progress overall in their communication skills.
• Staff help children to develop their physical control and coordination. Children are encouraged to make patterns in their water wall and in paints and sand. Babies love to immerse themselves in paint, sand and shredded paper. Children use thick and fine paintbrushes and pens in their drawings and paintings. They sort coloured rice using scoops, pincers and other tools. These skills help to develop their hand and arm muscles and support their early writing skills.
• Staff promote children's good behaviour and personal development well. Staff successfully encourage children to say please and thank you throughout their play and snack times. They help children to make decisions. For instance, they use picture charts and other visual clues to help children who lack confidence or are non-verbal to choose what to do next and reflect on their experiences.
• The well-qualified and experienced manager inspires her team of staff to strive for high standards. She is ably supported by her deputy manager and the room leads. The manager makes good use of training and supervision arrangements to develop staff's skills and knowledge. For example, two members of staff are working towards an early years degree and their experiences have contributed positively to developing the nursery's curriculum.
• Parents very strongly recommend the nursery. They appreciate the warmth of the staff and the thorough communication which they receive daily on each child's progress and experiences.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on children's experiences with books to promote their language skills further and awareness of the world.