Yellow Star Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children play and learn happily alongside their friends. They chatter together and willingly share equipment and toys. Babies concentrate while they feel textures with their hands and feet. They listen to the words that staff use to describe what they are doing, helping to expose them to new words and phrases. As children grow, they become articulate and confident speakers.

Babies and very young children practise climbing low, shallow steps before they slide down a short slide. They repeat this several times, smiling at the enthusiastic staff who give them encouragement. Older children crawl through tunnels and move equipment around the garden, which helps to support their physical development. Children use their imagination, creating a beach using strips of artificial grass to represent sand. They negotiate how the beach is formed and listen to the ideas of others. This contributes to children's increasing ability to make decisions in a democratic way.

All the babies and children have opportunities to join sessions run by professionals who visit the nursery on a regular basis. For example, each group sings and uses sign language together. Children and babies watch in anticipation as puppets and other props bring stories and songs to life. Later, the nursery staff repeat the songs. Babies move their hands and begin to copy the familiar signs that staff use during the songs. This helps to strengthen babies' ways to communicate.

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

• The manager, who is also the owner of the nursery, has high expectations of staff and children. She regularly meets with staff to help them plan activities that support all areas of learning. This helps to ensure that her vision that all children build on what they already know and can do is consistent throughout the nursery.
• Staff work closely with parents. Each key person finds out what children like and enjoy at home to help plan activities that spark interest and more learning at nursery. They share information about children's progress in a variety of ways, including via a secure electronic system. Staff welcome feedback from parents and give ideas to help parents support their children's learning at home.
• The manager and staff find out what children have been learning about in other organised clubs and activity sessions outside of nursery. They build on what children remember, helping to strengthen their understanding. Children enjoy looking at photos of science experiments and recall what they did both at science club and nursery.
• Staff have opportunities to develop their own professional knowledge and understanding through training and workshops. They share their ideas with colleagues, which helps to maintain good-quality care and education. Early years professionals from outside of nursery visit and review practice. This helps senior staff to plan for continual improvements throughout the nursery. This is further enhanced by the drive and enthusiasm of the whole team.
• From a very early age, children learn why, how and when they need to wash their hands. They also begin to learn how to keep themselves and others safe. Children know that they need to line up before entering or leaving the garden and help staff to count how many children are in the line so no one is left behind.
• Children are motivated to learn. They are keen to join in both adult-led and self-chosen activities. They show they are curious by asking questions. Staff respond positively to children's engagement. However, at times, staff are so eager to help that they do not give children time to solve problems, find different ways of doing things or answer questions for themselves. This hinders children's ability to develop their thinking skills fully.
• Staff plan adult-led activities that follow themes that children are interested in. At times, the daily routines for each age group of children influence the amount of time children spend engaged in the activities. As a result, children are not always able to reach a natural end in their investigations and learning. The busy day limits children's opportunity to go back and repeat an activity in their own time. As a result, there are fewer opportunities for children to consolidate and expand their understanding.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to encourage children to solve problems, find different solutions and answer questions for themselves
• review the planning and organisation of adult-led activities to allow children sufficient time to complete and repeat tasks at their own pace.