Happy Jays

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The manager and staff team are dedicated and committed to providing high standards of care and learning for children. They actively promote inclusion and work hard to meet family's individual needs, including supporting those who speak English as an additional language.

Staff have high expectations for all children. They have a good knowledge of the children in their care and the key-person system is effective. Staff help children to broaden their experiences and prepare for the next stages in their learning.

For example, parents are encouraged to borrow books and share them at home to further develop children's early ...reading skills. Children show that they feel happy, safe and secure in the nursery. Staff prepare the environment with exciting activities that reflect children's interests and experiences.

For example, children enjoy using ice blocks to build a frozen castle and show excitement outdoors as they look for birds with the binoculars. Staff encourage children to develop good social skills. Older children begin to share and take turns without support.

Children's behaviour is consistently good. They enjoy looking at pictures of themselves and their peers on the wall displays. This helps children to develop an understanding of other people and different traditions they might celebrate.

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

Staff are kind, caring and passionate about their work with children. They provide a nurturing environment for children to develop in and ensure that they feel secure. For example, they provide quiet spaces for less-confident children to settle in before joining the busy group.

Children benefit from this one-to-one support, which has a positive impact on their emotional well-being.Children are keen and enthusiastic learners. They show enjoyment in their learning and make choices about which experiences they want to participate in.

Overall, staff are skilled at extending children's learning. For example, they help children to prepare for starting school and encourage them to start to dress themselves using role-play clothes. However, they do not consistently focus their teaching on identified gaps in children's progress that have been highlighted through the manager's tracking assessments.

Staff provide a range of activities outdoors for those children who prefer to be outside. For example, children have access to paints, brushes and stories to help develop their literacy skills. Children are excited to develop their language and understanding of the world as they point out wildlife in the bug house and nearby trees.

Staff respond to children's imaginative play.Managers carefully consider how to spend extra funding to benefit children. Staff use their observations of children's play to link the activities to their areas of interest and continually reflect on the impact.

For example, they provide a range of baking activities and trips out of the setting to broaden children's experiences.Children are consistently encouraged to take an active part in their own self-care and develop good levels of independence. They enjoy healthy meals and safely use resources to cut their own fruit.

However, staff do not consistently provide clear messages about the importance of being healthy. For example, they miss opportunities to teach children about germs and the impact of eating a varied diet.The manager provides staff with regular supervision meetings to help them reflect on their skills and practice.

Staff benefit from access to a range of training and are supported in their role. For example, during supervision, staff are encouraged to consider their own well-being and mental health. Recently, they have used their knowledge from professional-development courses to enhance the planning, and focus on children's learning through play.

Staff have developed effective partnerships with other professionals who are involved with children. For example, they work alongside speech and language therapists and share information with health visitors to support children and their families. Managers know how to make referrals for extra support for children, when appropriate.

Parents leave positive feedback about the nursery. They are happy with the progress their children make, particularly in their speech and language. In addition, they say staff are always there to listen, understand and support them.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The provider has robust procedures to follow to safely recruit new staff. She has an in-depth knowledge of the local safeguarding partnerships' policies, and ensures that the manager cascades training to the staff team.

Staff are confident to identify signs of abuse and neglect. They have developed their awareness of wider child protection concerns, such as county lines and female genital mutilation. Staff provide children with ample opportunities to learn how to keep themselves safe.

For example, they take part in road safety activities and enjoy visits from the local fire service. The provider alerts parents to the dangers of using digital technology to help build their awareness of how to keep children safe online.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nenhance staff's understanding of the intent of the curriculum and focus their practice to support children's development even further help children develop a clear understanding of why it is important to make healthy choices, such as eating healthy food and following good hygiene.