Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery Colchester

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are curious, inquisitive and enjoy their learning. They take time to work problems out for themselves before responding to staff's questions, using increasingly complex words.

For example, children comment on how quickly their hands become cold when holding pieces of ice and on how soon their hands warm up when they put the ice down. This helps children to learn about simple science, such as cause and effect. Children enjoy using more unusual resources, such as coloured paint frozen into lolly moulds to paint with.

They create swirly and straight patterns in a large tray, marvelling at how the paint melts. All... children, including babies, form good relationships with staff. Babies snuggle into their key person when they need reassurance, while toddlers greet staff with happy smiles and a quick hug before going off to play.

This shows that children feel safe and secure. All children behave well. They take turns and share resources with each other without staff prompting them.

Children follow staff's instructions and know what is expected of them. For example, when a popular film theme song is played, children set about tidying up the room ready for lunch, trying to finish before the music ends.

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

Children have good speech and language skills.

They listen to staff while staff talk to them, which helps children to learn new vocabulary and the correct pronunciation of words they find difficult.Staff provide children with varied activities at circle time. For example, they use small toys, such as an octopus, ambulance and small dolls, to challenge children to create a story using the props.

Older, more confident children excitedly share their suggestions, although, at times, the younger, less confident children are unable to get their ideas heard.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive effective support from staff and other professionals. The manager has worked hard to ensure that individual learning plans are arranged, and children's learning styles are taken into account when planning activities.

Therefore, children are eager to engage and explore activities which are planned around their learning needs.Children enjoy a good range of different experiences. For example, staff organise an imaginary ice-cream parlour, complete with paper cones and coloured dough ice cream.

Children pretend to serve and receive payment for the ice creams. However, staff miss opportunities to develop and extend children's learning further.Partnerships with parents are good.

Parents share what their children know and can do when they start, which helps staff to settle children and provide activities that they will enjoy. Daily feedback further supports continuity for children between home and nursery.All staff have regular supervision meetings with the manager.

This provides them with opportunities to discuss their practice and any concerns they have regarding the children in their care. The manager is keen to develop staff's skills and ensures that any training needs are quickly met, which helps to raise the quality of teaching and outcomes for children.Children are confident and have good levels of self-esteem.

They tackle new challenges with anticipation, keen to succeed even when faced with difficulty. For example, staff give children large pieces of ice with plastic dinosaurs frozen inside. Children eagerly use a range of one-handed resources to chip away at the ice and free the dinosaurs.

The manager has introduced committee meetings for the pre-school children to give them a say in how their room is run. Children were given 'committee lanyards' and cups of hot chocolate to help them decide what they would like in their room. They decided that they would like new features in the garden, as well as pink and purple electronic tablets.

Children enjoy being outside on a daily basis. Resources have been improved to encourage children to be more physically active. For example, staff help children to create a car using old tyres and wooden planks.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.All staff demonstrate a good understanding of how to safeguard children. They know the signs which may indicate a child is at possible risk of harm and what action to take.

Staff confidently discuss their learning gained through completing safeguarding courses online. The manager ensures that she asks staff random safeguarding questions to maintain their awareness of all child protection issues.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: develop further the organisation of circle times to provide younger children with more opportunities to take part make greater use of opportunities to extend children's learning, particularly during their imaginative play.

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