Happy Jays

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy as they arrive at the nursery.

They settle quickly, greeting staff and their friends confidently. Children build good bonds with staff from the start. They demonstrate that they feel safe and secure.

Children are confident to explore, eager to join in with activities and behave well. Staff adapt their teaching to reflect children's individual stages of development and their learning styles. For instance, staff ensure that the outdoor environment provides children who prefer to learn outside with good opportunities to explore and learn.

Overall, staff have a good understanding of how children... learn. They have high expectations for all children. Staff provide a wide range of suitably challenging learning experiences.

Children are excited, interested and motivated to learn. This has a positive impact on their progress. Babies develop good communication skills.

They enjoy singing nursery rhymes and exploring different sounds, using various items such as pots and pans. Staff promote children's understanding of the natural world around them. Children use scissors skilfully to chop herbs, such as rosemary, thyme and mint.

This helps to develop the small muscles in their hands in preparation for early writing. Children use their senses as they describe smells and textures.

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

Children are well behaved.

Staff give gentle reminders that help them understand the impact of their actions on others. Older children learn how to self-regulate their behaviour. They settle disputes to ensure that everyone has a turn playing with a favourite toy.

Children are polite and remember to say 'please' and 'thank you' to staff and each other at appropriate times.Staff support children well to develop their communication and language skills. They ask appropriate questions and give children time to respond.

Children enjoy having conversations with staff about their experiences at home. They listen well to staff and follow instructions, such as when it is time to help tidy the toys away.Managers act with integrity and help staff to manage their workload well.

For example, they ensure that staff have time within the working day to meet the requirements of their role. Managers encourage staff to further their skills and arrange professional development opportunities within working hours.Children learn about differences and similarities in the natural world and their experiences.

For example, children use stories to understand about people in different parts of the word, their cultures and traditions. This is extended as children collect postcards from various places and link these with a map. They discuss these various places in group discussions.

However, the organisation of some group times means that children are not always able to concentrate.Children develop an understanding of early mathematical concepts as they make various-sized cakes from play dough. Children count them in order up to five and start to make comparisons of size.

However, staff do not consistently give enough consideration to the ways they can support older children's understanding effectively of shape, space and measure in everyday activities.Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff and parents communicate regularly in a variety of ways, both informally and formally.

For example, at parents' evening, they talk in depth about children's progress. In addition, staff share ideas about how parents can support their child's learning at home. Parents comment that they are kept informed of every aspect of nursery life, and say that staff are amazing and they understand their children and how to support them.

Throughout the nursery, children are encouraged to develop their imaginations. Children lead their own activities as they pretend to make tea for the dolls. They then ask staff to take them to the hospital as they are ill.

Children instruct staff where to sit and provide them with books to read to the doll as 'they will be a long time'. They then return to see how they are progressing. Staff are completely immersed in the activity with children and ensure that they follow children's lead.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Managers and staff have a very good knowledge and understanding of all aspects of safeguarding. They ensure that staff keep up to date with changes in legislation through regular training and briefing.

Regular 'spot checks' of staff's safeguarding knowledge are carried out by the owner and feedback is given, if required. Rigorous and robust staff recruitment procedures are in place and are supported by thorough induction. All staff are alert to safety issues and all areas have risk assessments in place.

Children understand how to take measured risk. For example, when using scissors, children discuss safety.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: norganise group times more effectively to provide children with opportunities to concentrate without distractions develop further opportunities for older children to widen their understanding of space, shape and measure.