Play ’n’ Learn Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enter nursery happily and quickly relax into the routine of the day. They make informed choices about their play and follow their interests. Younger children delight in scooping up shaving foam in their hands and watching as they squeeze it between their fingers.

They pat it, make marks in it, and hide various toys with it and smile broadly at staff when they show them what they have done.Children's creativity is supported well. Toddlers enjoy painting, freely choosing from a variety of colours.

They manipulate dough, poking and prodding it and rolling it flat and use cutters to make different shapes in it. St...aff mix different smells into the dough, such as lemon essence, to provide sensory experiences for children. Children enjoy exploring, especially outside.

Older children use small tools and equipment to dig in the sand, filling different containers and making various shaped models that they quickly pat down and remake. They show high levels of concentration as they search for worms and small insects, watching how they move in the sand. Children enjoy sharing things they have done with their families with the staff and their peers.

They enjoy looking at photographs of themselves and their families, supporting their feeling of security. Children talk about their families and the special people in their lives, which builds their awareness of how families may differ from their own.

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

Children eagerly greet their friends and enjoy sharing things they have been doing with staff.

Rooms are prepared before children arrive and children settle quickly into their play. Close relationships form between staff and children. Time spent with parents before children start at nursery means that staff build a secure knowledge of children's individual needs and routines.

Staff plan activities to support children's overall development. Regular observations and assessments of children's learning mean staff can plan effectively to support learning. Parents access a daily diary online, which outlines their child's day and activities they enjoy.

They too can share information from home with staff, keeping them up to date about new interests and events in their child's lives.Children benefit from plenty of exercise each day, spending time in the garden. They learn that fresh air and being active is good for them.

Children benefit from freshly prepared meals each day and sit together with staff to eat, supporting their social development. Staff encourage those parents who provide packed lunches for their children to include healthy foods. Children access drinks freely throughout the day to remain hydrated and alert.

Parents are very happy with the service provide for their children. They comment on the friendly, caring staff and the good communication that takes place between them each day. Parents comment that they feel secure in the knowledge that the children are being cared for and enjoying their time in nursery.

Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well. The special needs coordinator works closely with staff in nursery, parents and other professionals involved in children's lives to ensure that planning is finely targeted, enabling children to make the best possible progress.Children build good hand and eye coordination and use scissors carefully and precisely.

They take their time making face masks, cutting two holes for their eyes. Babies show great delight as they explore a variety of spinning wheels, textures, bolts, and door chains on a large board, pulling them, shaking them, and giggling loudly at the sounds they make.Children are supported as they learn to take turns with the resources and to understand that sharing toys with their friends is kind.

Staff help children as they learn to regulate their own behaviour. They talk to them, use distraction, and consistently remind children what is expected. Children receive lots of praise and encouragement from staff, who are positive role models for them.

However, there are times when the routine of the day is not as well planned as others, which leads to minor disagreements between children and children are not fully focused.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Children's safety is assured.

Staff take effective steps to ensure that children are welcomed into a safe, secure environment. Managers follow thorough recruitment and selection procedures, seeking additional advice and guidance, where needed, to make sure all staff are suitable to care for children. Ongoing supervision and monitoring of staff's performance enables managers to identify sharply focused professional development opportunities.

This enables staff to carry out their roles effectively. Staff deal with minor accidents swiftly and sensitively. Secure routines for the administration of medication ensures children's needs are met.

Staff fully understand the various signs that may indicate a child is at risk of harm and neglect. They know the procedures for raising a concern in a timely manner.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review planning of activities and routines during the day to minimise instances when children become disengaged.