Christie Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff have a good understanding of how children learn.

They have high expectations for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff provide a wide range of suitably challenging learning experiences. Children are excited, interested, and motivated to learn.

This has a positive impact on children's progress. Babies develop good communication skills. They enjoy singing nursery rhymes and exploring different sounds, using musical instruments.

Staff promote children's understanding of the natural world around them. Children carefully place seeds into pots to watch these gr...ow over time. They use scissors skilfully to chop herbs, such as lemongrass, and explore interesting items in a nature tray.

This helps to develop the small muscles in children's hands in preparation for early writing. Younger children develop concepts of early mathematics as they make various-sized gingerbread men from play dough. Children count them in order up to five.

Babies benefit greatly from interactions with nurturing and caring staff, who are sensitive to their needs. All children form close bonds with staff who know them well. This helps children to feel safe and secure.

Children's growing independence is supported effectively. For example, children are given small responsibilities and complete these tasks well, such as setting the table for lunch and serving their own meals. Children gain the skills they need for the next stages in their learning, including when they move on to school.

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

The manager is experienced and passionate about her role. She evaluates the setting well. The manager consults with her staff about how they can manage their workload and reduce paperwork to ensure there are no unnecessary burdens on staff.

Staff receive regular supervision sessions and coaching and say their emotional well-being is supported effectively.Children develop strong bonds with the staff team from the outset. Staff help children to settle quickly and feel secure.

Staff ensure children's emotional well-being is supported effectively. They are nurturing and caring towards children and are attentive to their individual needs.Staff have developed effective partnerships with parents.

They work closely with them to ensure consistency in children's care and learning. For example, staff and parents attend training workshops together about teaching children phonics. Parents speak positively about the nursery.

They say their children are in 'good hands' and staff 'really take care of children's well-being'.Staff teach children about the differences between themselves and others. For instance, children share and learn about festivals from their own cultures with their friends, such as Persian New Year and Chinese New Year.

Staff also encourage children to draw pictures of themselves outside using chalks. They encourage children to look at their individual features, such as hair colour and eye colour. This helps to promote children's understanding of what makes them unique.

Staff provide children with a wide range of learning experiences to extend children's skills and knowledge for their future learning. For example, children benefit from attending trips to local museums and libraries. They engage in regular music sessions, French lessons and sports coaching sessions.

In addition, children take part in age-appropriate first-aid courses. These help children learn how to keep themselves safe from a young age.Staff encourage children to reflect on their behaviour and think about how their actions can have an impact on others.

Children are confident and assertive. They are able to resolve minor conflicts that arise during play for themselves. However, staff do not fully extend ways to help children understand behavioural expectations more effectively.

Children's language skills are supported effectively. For instance, babies choose books for staff to read to them. The babies make animal sounds when they notice animals in the pictures of the book.

Staff introduce new words to older children when playing and observing nature outside, such as 'jackdaw', 'raven' and 'lavender'. This helps to build on children's growing vocabulary.Staff promote children's understanding of how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Children have daily access to fresh air as they play outside and engage in regular forest-school sessions. Staff also encourage children to brush their teeth, which helps to promote their oral health. However, staff do not use more opportunities to enhance children's understanding about healthy eating.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a good knowledge of how to keep children safe. They ensure they keep their knowledge up to date through regular safeguarding training.

Staff know how to recognise if a child is at risk of harm. They understand the procedure to follow to report any concerns about children. When new staff are appointed, the manager follows robust recruitment processes.

These ensure staff are suitable and have the necessary skills to carry out their roles. The manager ensures staff are deployed appropriately to meet the needs of children at all times.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nincrease the opportunities available for children to learn about healthy eating strengthen the good strategies to support children's behaviour and enhance children's understanding about what is expected of them even further.