Yarnton Day Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children demonstrate that they are happy, settled and enjoy their time at this inclusive nursery. Children confidently leave their parents and carers at the door and settle well to activities that they enjoy. Staff are kind, supportive and gentle in their support and interactions with children. They clearly have good relationships with the children and support their individual needs well. Children self-sufficiently move around the setting, making independent choices in what they would like to do. They understand the routine of the day and know what is expected of them. This was evident as children happily go to the quieter room in key group times.

Overall, staff provide good levels of support for children's learning and development. Staff offer children a wide range of activities that support their interests and help them to build on their prior knowledge and skills. For example, children have many opportunities to build on their hand muscles and dexterity ready for writing as they have fun exploring with media and materials, such as dough and sand. Children are developing an understanding of good manners through positive role modelling. Staff help children to build on their vocabulary and understanding well, as they engage with children and provide a running commentary as children play.

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

• The management team has a clear awareness of what the team want the children to learn, and have a good vision for the setting. As a team, they regularly reflect together on the activities they offer to children and talk about children's progress and next steps in learning. Staff demonstrated that they have a strong awareness of how activities support learning and are able to articulate the learning intentions behind activities that they plan and provide.
• Children develop their independence well. During mealtimes, they make choices about the foods they would like to eat and use the cutlery with ease. Staff support children's understanding of healthy eating well as they talk to them about the impact foods have on their bodies. Staff support children in mathematical concepts during mealtimes well. For example, staff and children together use appropriate language to talk about the shapes and different sizes of their food, such as which one is 'bigger' and 'smaller'.
• Staff promote children's health and well-being accordingly. Children go outdoors daily and benefit from fresh air in the well-established learning environment. Staff provide children with many opportunities to develop physically. For example, children practise and refine their skills and confidence as they negotiate space on ride-on bikes, balance along ropes and logs and have freedom to run and explore. Children have many opportunities to learn about the world around them. For instance, they learn where some foods come from through planting, caring and harvesting vegetables grown at nursery.
• Children have some positive friendships forming and often they are seen laughing and playing happily together, especially as they have fun in the role-play areas and dress up. Children generally behave well. However, at times, some children do not receive consistent messages from staff to help them manage their behaviour, particularly about how their actions might affect others. Despite this, staff praise children regularly, which promotes their self-esteem and confidence well.
• Overall, the management team is aware of some areas where staff need support. Managers have arrangements to monitor training to support staff practice. However, they do not identify all inconsistencies in practice. For example, on occasions, some staff do not make effective use of communication and questioning, to help children build on their vocabulary and understanding of language. Despite this, all children including those who need additional support in communication and language are developing well. They enjoy singing songs and story sessions.
• Partnership with parents and other professionals involved in children's care, learning and education is good. Staff ensure they communicate effectively and maintain a good working relationship with all professionals to maintain continuity of care. Parents report positively on the welcoming and friendly staff team. They comment on how they feel well informed about their children's learning and developmental progress. Staff share children's next steps with parents and provide activities and guidance to help support children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide more consistent support for children, to help build on their understanding of how to manage their feelings and behaviour
• monitor the quality of teaching even more closely to identify further areas where staff can develop their practice and extend their teaching.