Rock a Tots UK Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff provide a safe, friendly and homely atmosphere that supports children to settle and feel secure.

Children arrive happily and separate well from their parents. They benefit from the care provided by the kind and welcoming staff. Children's behaviour is good.

They listen well to staff and respond positively to their instructions. Children play together and build good friendships. Staff play alongside children, for example as they enjoy building sandcastles together.

Staff provide children with a balanced and broad curriculum. Children explore their environment and independently choose from the wide range o...f available resources and activities. They are motivated to play and learn.

Older children express themselves creatively by using a range of natural resources and dough. They cut mermaid tails out of the dough and decorate them with glass beads and seashells. This helps to develop their fine motor skills to support future writing.

Staff working with toddlers are calm, reassuring and attentive to their needs. Toddlers have plenty of space to explore and practise working on improving their physical development. Children are happy and settle well into their daily routines throughout the nursery.

Staff effectively plan the settling-in process, transitions between rooms and the transition on to school.

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

The new manager focuses the new curriculum on what they want children to learn. Staff know their key children well, including their next steps in learning.

However, on some occasions, staff do not always implement these next steps into the experiences they provide for children. As a result, children's individual learning needs are not always supported in meaningful ways, and some children do not sustain high levels of concentration.The manager places a high focus on children's communication and language.

Some staff model language and repeat new vocabulary, such as 'munch' and 'nibble', for older children to listen to and copy. Staff repeat two-word sentences to ensure that toddlers understand what is being said to them, such as 'big scoop' and 'little scoop'. This helps to broaden children's growing vocabulary.

Staff support children to develop their independence skills in preparation for moving on to the next stage of their learning. Children learn to tidy up and take care of their environment. They prepare for outdoor play as they put on their coats and find their boots and shoes.

Children develop a positive attitude to learning and persevere in all that they do.The on-site nursery chef ensures that children eat a range of good-quality, healthy and nutritious meals and snacks. The chef and staff are aware of, and meet, children's individual dietary needs.

Staff speak to parents to get a good understanding of children's requirements, and all adults take appropriate precautions when serving and handling food.Staff take full advantage of the close connections the nursery has with the grounds on which they are based. For instance, children spend time visiting the story time and craft events and the outdoor areas.

Children are keen to go for a walk outside and staff encourage them to talk about what they can see and hear. They are learning about the natural world around them.The manager has a clear vision for the nursery and strives for improvement.

She reflects well on the service it provides and supports staff with their development, such as their mandatory training. However, due to significant changes in the leadership team over the last couple of years, professional development for staff has not been sharply focused enough on supporting staff to help children consistently build on what they already know and can do.Relationships with parents are positive.

Staff gather information from home about children's achievements, interests and routines to provide a personalised experience for all children. They discuss information with parents on how they can support their child's learning at home. Parents comment that the staff are kind and warm and know the children well.

They say that the staff have helped the children to develop a love for books.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager ensures that staff have a good awareness of their safeguarding responsibilities and understand their duty to keep children safe and protected from harm.

Staff are aware of who to report concerns to about children's welfare, both within the setting and to the local authority. They have completed appropriate safeguarding training, and the manager regularly provides them with information to keep everyone's knowledge up to date. Staff deployment is effective.

This enables staff to protect children's welfare and meet their individual needs. Children go on regular nature walks and staff assess the risk of potential hazards and minimise these sufficiently.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen the implementation of the new curriculum and planning, supporting staff to develop a secure understanding of all children's learning intentions and next steps focus the professional development of staff more sharply on supporting children to consistently build on what they already know and can do.