ABC Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy warm and close relationships with staff.

Those who care for younger children provide cuddles and reassurance and know them well. They recognise the signs when a baby is getting tired. Pre-school children form strong bonds with their key staff and seek them out as soon as they arrive.

This demonstrates secure emotional attachments. Children of all ages are eager to play and explore. Whether that be pre-school children using their small muscles to create bead pictures, or babies using their creativity to explore the sounds musical instruments make.

Toddlers use their imagination and play with the ...doll's house.Babies show superb problem-solving skills. As they stand on a pallet, staff offer them a hand to get down.

Instead, babies work out that they can turn around and back down from the pallet themselves safely with no help at all. Pre-school children show good levels of self-care. They manage their own toileting while staff afford them independence.

This contributes to children being ready for school. Children learn to share and take turns. Babies hand over toys to their friends.

Staff offer lots of praise, which helps to build babies' self-esteem. Staff working with pre-school children gently remind them that it is good to share. This helps to promote children's overall understanding of the nursery rules.

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

The manager reflects on the quality of the nursery and implements changes to make improvements. For example, the current action plan is to develop the outdoor space to make it even more accessible to babies. The manager values her staff team, involving them in the organisation of their rooms.

Staff in the baby room have adapted their room and made resources more available for babies. They have added more natural resources for them to explore and investigate.There is a strong team spirit at the nursery.

The staff team is qualified and experienced. The manager provides individual supervision meetings for staff to discuss their work and the children they care for. Staff have access to ongoing professional development through an online training provider.

This helps to support their practice and children's learning needs. Staff say that they feel confident to approach the manager and feel that she values their mental health and well-being.Staff know the children they look after well.

They assess their development and know what they want the children to learn next. The curriculum reflects this and takes account of children's current interests.Literacy skills are well supported.

For example, pre-school children work together to complete an alphabet jigsaw. Staff introduce the sounds that letters make. Children write down each letter as it occurs, contributing to their early writing skills.

However, occasionally, mathematics is less well taught. For example, staff do not consistently build on children's interest in mathematics by using mathematical language or introducing counting into children's play.Staff have developed an environment where children confidently choose what they want to play with.

Children know where the toys and resources are kept so they can get out what interests them. However, staff do not always encourage children to put resources back once they have finished playing with them. Children occasionally throw baskets of toys on the floor and then walk away from them.

Staff pick up the toys and are not helping children to understand how to care for their toys and play spaces.Staff provide good opportunities for children to play outside and get fresh air. Staff have a go at an obstacle course.

Children copy and have a go for themselves. They develop their strength and balance as they step from tyres to planks. However, occasionally, for example at snack time, staff's interactions are not as consistently effective as at other times.

The nursery widens children's opportunities and gives them experiences that they may not otherwise have had. For example, staff provide children of all ages with a bus trip to a local wood. Furthermore, they often take children into the local town, where they visit shops and the library to take part in scheduled activities.

This helps to broaden children's understanding of other people and the local community.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a good understanding of child protection issues and are clear on their role and responsibilities to keep children safe.

They can recognise the signs or symptoms that may indicate that a child is at risk of harm. Staff are aware of the correct reporting procedure to follow, including making safeguarding referrals themselves and reporting concerns about a colleague. Staff carry out daily risk assessments of the nursery environment to reduce and minimise any potential hazards.

During the session, staff deploy themselves effectively to ensure they supervise children well. The manager follows safer recruitment procedures when employing new members of staff to ensure they are suitable to work with children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to maximise opportunities to extend children's mathematics skills during everyday activities support staff to provide clear and consistent support to help children to understand the importance of caring for resources and their play spaces support staff to provide higher levels of teaching and interactions during routine activities to further extend children's learning experiences.

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