Playbox Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children are very quick to settle in the incredibly calm environment, which captivates their attention from the moment they arrive. For example, children talk about the photographs around the room of people showing different emotions.

They talk about how they feel and use play dough to make happy and sad faces. Staff intertwine mathematics into activities. For example, they use focused praise to encourage children to use scissors safely and cut the dough into different lengths and compare sizes.

Staff are incredibly skilled at ensuring that the curriculum offers children a superb range of first-hand experiences ...linked to their emerging interests and next steps. Staff have consistently high expectations for children's learning. For instance, children become bakers as they measure out the ingredients to make bread dough.

They learn how to knead the dough before shaping it into loaves. Staff use the photographs taken of the activity to encourage children to recall the event to friends. Children are extremely inquisitive and benefit from an extensive range of high-quality natural resources.

For instance, children hand their friends shopping baskets before waiting in line to buy the real fruit and vegetables in the play shop. Children's behaviour is exceptional; they are kind to friends and cooperate with others. Staff skilfully spark children's curiosity through a multitude of sensory and tactile experiences.

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

The manager and staff are extremely dedicated and passionate about providing high-quality care and learning for children. The manager recognises the importance of supporting her team and ensuring staff well-being. For instance, staff are encouraged to take on additional responsibilities within the nursery and are supported to enhance their subject knowledge and pursue their own interests.

Staff attend a wealth of external training events, such as specialist language courses to support children's speech and language development. Staff cascade training on to others during regular meetings as well as disseminating to other early years professionals who visit the nursery.Staff recognise the important role language plays in supporting children's confidence and self-esteem.

They implement a highly impressive range of techniques to help children to develop excellent communication and language skills. For instance, they play guessing games with the older children. The children take turns to wear a headband with a picture card on it.

The staff help children to think of clues they can give the wearer to help them to guess what is on the card, such as how many legs it has. The children gain a tremendous sense of achievement as their clues help their friends to guess the pictures on the cards.Staff are incredibly focused on working with parents and other early years professionals to provide a fully inclusive environment for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those with English as an additional language.

For instance, the manager employs additional staff to support more vulnerable children to help ensure they reach their learning potential. Staff talk to children about their local community and the wider world. For example, they teach children words in Spanish and French, and show them how to flamenco dance.

Parents come into the nursery in traditional dress and read dual-language storybooks to the children. This helps to extend children's cultural knowledge and ensure all children and families feel valued within the nursery community.Children are curious and develop a sense of awe and wonder about the world.

For instance, they learn about the importance of recycling and the effect this has on the planet. Staff utilise children's inquisitive nature as they explore outside and identify habitats of different animals, and then build insect homes and explore where hedgehogs live. Staff extend learning through the use of factual books and looking at information on the internet.

Staff ensure they discuss online safety with older children to help them develop an excellent understanding about staying safe.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager is meticulously organised and has implemented a very effective training programme to make sure all staff receive in-depth safeguarding tuition.

For instance, the manager carries out regular quizzes and uses different scenarios to constantly check and develop the staff's knowledge and confidence in relation to safeguarding. Staff have an exceptional understanding of child protection and wider safeguarding issues, such as extreme or radical views, to ensure they are highly focused on maintaining children's welfare. The manager has highly effective recruitment procedures to ensure staff are suitably checked before they work with children.

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