Curious Learners Childcare

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enter the nursery with confidence and readily approach staff to share their news, showing they feel safe and secure.

Even the youngest and newest children settle quickly with their special adult, who knows their routines and individual needs very well. Children eagerly join in with the activities and concentrate well, showing a positive attitude towards their learning. Younger children learn mathematical language from staff, such as 'big', 'small' and 'full'.

Older children name shapes, such as 'hexagon', count objects confidently, solve simple addition and recognise numerals.The manager has a clear intent for... the curriculum. She knows what knowledge and skills she wants the children to learn to prepare them for their moves through the nursery and on to school.

Any possible gaps in learning are identified quickly and additional support put in place to help children catch up. All children, including children who speak English as an additional language and children who receive additional funding, make good progress from their starting points. Additional funding is used well to help close any gaps in learning and children catch up, particularly with their social skills and communication and language.

Children develop good levels of independence. Young children feed themselves, drink from open cups and blow their own noses. Older children put on their own shoes, go to the toilet independently and wash their hands.

This helps children prepare for their move to the next room or to school.

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

Staff support children's behaviour well. They help older children to understand their feelings and how manage these appropriately.

Children learn about the consequences of their actions on others. Younger children are offered specific activities to support them to learn to share and take turns, such as rolling and throwing a ball to one and other.Parents report that they are very happy with the progress their children are making at nursery.

They say that communication between staff and parents is positive. Parents particularly enjoy the stay-and-play sessions and report that these mean they feel involved in their children's play and learning at nursery.Staff report that they feel supported well by the manager.

They have regular meetings with her, and she gives them feedback on their performance. Staff have attended training and now know what local agencies are in place to support children. They are better informed about where to signpost families for additional support and how to get advice about their own practice.

Children develop a positive attitude towards fresh air and exercise. For example, they ride the tricycles, climb up the ladders and slide down the slide. Young babies have plenty of tummy time to develop their core strength.

Older children work cooperatively on a three-seated bike to move around the outdoor area and negotiate space well. Staff are skilled in helping young children learn the skills they need to ride the tricycles. They teach children how to push the pedals and steer with the handles so they ride out of the way of obstacles.

Staff promote children's communication and language skills well, overall. They repeat simple words, narrate what young children are doing and encourage all children to join in with songs. Older children engage in conversations, both in their home language and English, adapting this depending on who they are talking to or playing with.

However, at times, staff do not teach older children to listen to others and take turns in conversations when in a large group. This means that, at times, quieter children go unheard.Children show they are developing a love of books and they independently select these, turn the pages and look at and talk about the pictures.

However, some group story times are disrupted when staff encourage children to take turns to go and wash their hands, meaning they lose out on important learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff have a thorough knowledge of child protection and safeguarding issues.

Staff are confident in their knowledge of who they can contact when they have safeguarding concerns about children or their colleagues. The manager keeps detailed records and attends meetings to monitor any concerns about children's welfare. Recruitment procedures are robust and help ensure that adults caring for children are suitable to do so.

The manager checks staff's ongoing suitability. Staff check the premises daily to minimise risks to children's safety and make sure that the youngest children are in safe spaces and well supervised.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nincrease opportunities for older children to develop their listening skills and take turns in conversations in large-group activities help staff understand the importance of story time as part of the curriculum, for all children.