Cuddles Day Nursery Parkstone

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children settle quickly in their room as they are welcomed by their key person. They are keen to begin their learning and show good levels of confidence and motivation.

Even the youngest children concentrate well at activities and their own child-led play. Children behave well and show consideration to each other. For example, children help each other to get ready to go outside.

Staff support the younger children in learning how to behave appropriately. Staff have high expectations for the children and plan an effective curriculum that is tailored to children's individual needs and abilities. Staff in each room are res...ponsible for planning and preparing children for the next stage in their learning.

For example, they develop children's independence, build on their communication skills and their personal, social and emotional development. Children delight in joining in with activities for World Book Day. For example, older children use props to retell their favourite stories, and younger children use their imagination as they use sand to make bowls of porridge for 'the three bears'.

Staff build positive relationships with parents. They are welcomed into the nursery and are able to see their children in the nursery environment. Parents report that staff know their children well and that they are making good progress.

They say that staff communicate well with them and there are lots of opportunities to be involved in their children's learning.

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

Children develop strong bonds with their key person, which enables them to build good relationships with the other staff in their room and the children. Young children show delight as their friends wake up from their sleep to have lunch with them.

All the children play well together in the large well-resourced garden, where staff support them in learning to respect and value others.In general, staff interact well to support children to learn new skills. For example, they enable children to make their own dough and demonstrate how to create different shapes, which fits in with their story about the gingerbread man.

Staff support babies in caring for their dolls, teaching them how to use the potty. However, at times, staff do not make best use of the environment to support children's learning even further. For example, staff do not consider how the noise levels in the room may limit children's ability to focus on communication and language activities.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. The special educational needs coordinator is particularly good at accessing the appropriate support for children to enable them to make the best possible progress. Children who speak English as an additional language are supported effectively by staff.

Staff recognise the importance of children's heritage and provide a wide range of resources to celebrate their home languages and cultures, such as stories reflecting the different languages that the children speak.Partnerships with parents are productive, and parents report that the handovers at the end of the day are thorough and provide a good insight into what their child has been doing. There are good opportunities for parents to come into the nursery to celebrate different events, such as Shrove Tuesday.

Parents also report they like the fact staff will follow the child's home routines to make sure that they are comfortable. They value staff's support and advice with children's behaviour, potty training and developing sleep routines.Since the nursery's last inspection, the management and staff team have worked hard to improve the quality of care and education.

Staff have attended training, and the local authority has provided support to develop staff's knowledge of safeguarding and managing children's behaviour.Staff make good use of the opportunities to enhance children's learning in the outdoor environment. For example, they visit the library, go to the local shop to buy fruit for snack, and explore the local woods where they learn about the changing seasons.

This helps children to develop an understanding of the wider world and the community they live in.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff understand their responsibility to keep children safe.

They carry out regular checks throughout the day to ensure that the premises are suitable and any hazards are removed or minimised. Older children are learning how to identify possible risks and keep themselves safe. For example, they help to mop up split water.

Staff have a good understanding of the procedures to follow if they have concerns about a child's welfare or safety. There are good procedures for staff induction and supervision meetings to make sure that staff have the skills and knowledge to fulfil their roles.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review how rooms are organised during small-group activities to make sure that the noise levels are minimised when staff are promoting children's communication and language skills.