Cute Companions Private Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children happily arrive at the nursery and receive a warm welcome from the caring staff team. Leaders have designed a curriculum which focuses on igniting children's curiosity. They have prioritised supporting children's communication and language development.

For example, staff introduce children to five new words a day, which helps children to widen their vocabularies. Children enjoy activities which challenge them to think and try things in different ways. They learn how to be caring and kind from staff who act as positive role models.

However, leaders do not effectively monitor and evaluate staff practice in the diffe...rent rooms. This means that the quality of education provided varies throughout the nursery. Overall, children behave well, and their individual needs are met.

However, the organisation of daily routines in the toddler room are not well planned for. For example, children are expected to wait far too long at lunchtime, which leads to them becoming upset and frustrated. Staff make accurate ongoing assessments of the children they care for.

They use these to determine what the children need to learn next. Staff prepare children well for room changes in the nursery and share key information to support children's development. Progress checks identify where children require additional support in their learning.

This work continues throughout the nursery, helping children to make suitable progress. This helps children prepare for their eventual move to school.

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

The quality of education across the nursery is variable, particularly in the toddler room.

Daily routines are not well organised to maximise learning and engagement. For example, children are expected to wait for long periods for food at mealtimes. There are too many distractions in the environment, which hinder the children's ability to focus and concentrate at group times, such as singing.

This leads to children becoming frustrated and upset. They do not, therefore, fully benefit from the leaders' planned learning programmes.Staff are happy in their jobs and feel very supported by leaders.

Leaders prioritise staff well-being and organise social events to support morale. However, staff supervision arrangements are not yet robust or regular enough. This means that weaknesses in staff practice are not swiftly identified.

This means that staff are not supported effectively to continually improve their practice, and children do not consistently experience interactions of a high quality.Leaders implement strong settling-in procedures, which support children's emotional development. The key-worker system ensures babies and children are cared for by staff who know them well.

Staff gather lots of information about the children from parents when they start. This includes information about care routines, children's likes and dislikes. This helps children to settle into nursery life quickly.

Parent partnerships are strong. Parents feel well informed about their children's progress and development. They enjoy receiving updates about the activities their children participate in.

Parents report their children are making good progress and enjoy attending the nursery.Children are developing a love of reading and literacy. Books are readily available and placed in accessible containers for children to choose from independently.

Babies enjoy looking at illustrations of elephants as they play with wooden elephant figures. The nursery provides a little library for the children and the local community.Care practices are good.

Children independently wash their hands and decide when to drink from their water bottles. Children are encouraged to wipe their noses and dispose of their tissues. Staff support and encourage very young children to put on their slippers and work things out for themselves.

This helps children gain confidence and prepares them for their next move within the nursery or eventually to school.Children enjoy learning early mathematical skills. Staff count pine cones with babies, they support them during sand play to fill and empty containers.

Pre-school children independently find number disks and eagerly place the correct numbers of teddies on their disk. They explore shape puzzles to create designs and join in counting songs, showing the correct number of fingers when asked. Staff in the pre-school room join in construction games and support children to connect shapes.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date plan and implement the curriculum more effectively to fully meet younger children's care and learning needs 20/12/2024 implement robust staff supervision to ensure that weaknesses in practice are identified quickly and staff are supported to provide high-quality experiences and interactions for children.

20/12/2024