Playdays Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff have high expectations for children and provide a wide and varied curriculum. They believe that, 'when children feel happy and secure, they will learn and achieve'.

Babies confidently separate from their key person and explore their surroundings freely. They show interest in toys, such as vehicles that move, and take pleasure in wheeling these back and forth to staff. This contributes towards the positive relationships they form with others.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are keen to investigate materials, such as water. They concentrate well when repeating actions, such as pou...ring water between containers. The vast majority of staff interventions are timely and precise and contribute towards children gaining the skills they require for their future success.

Staff create a calm environment where the individual needs of children and their well-being and happiness are highly prioritised. Settling-in arrangements are supportive and contribute towards children feeling happy, settled and assured. Children's behaviour is good.

Older children readily invite their friends to join in with games. They show an understanding of the rules in place and take turns without prompting. Children develop independence as they grow.

For example, babies happily feed themselves at lunchtime. Older children willingly help with tasks, such as handing out cutlery and plates to their peers at mealtimes.

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

Managers and leaders invest highly in their staff team.

Appreciation awards, such as 'Superstar of the term', value the efforts of staff and contribute towards the increased positive energy within the nursery. The well-qualified staff aspire to develop their knowledge and skills. They source training that is highly relevant to the needs of the children attending.

A culture of inclusive practice is firmly embedded. Staff value children's home cultures and traditions and incorporate these into their plans. For example, they readily explore festivals, such as Eid, and use these occasions to introduce all children to foods from around the world.

This helps to build on children's good knowledge of people and communities beyond their own. However, staff do not provide opportunities for children to develop and use their home languages frequently enough during play. This hinders opportunities for children who speak English as an additional language to build on their good communication and language skills even further.

The attentive staff are extremely proactive in sourcing early support for children with SEND. They meet regularly with parents and other professionals involved with each child and thread advice into children's individualised learning plans. This helps to close any gaps in their learning and contributes towards the good progress that all children make.

The quality of education is good. Staff plan a wide range of exciting experiences for children to engage in that, largely, support what they need to learn next. However, occasionally, the level of challenge presented by some staff is too great for some children.

For example, during play with pegs, younger children say some numbers, such as 'one, two, seven', randomly. In response to this staff ask them to count a large number of pegs and to use one number name for each item. This results in younger children losing interest and does not support them to consolidate and build on their skills naturally and gradually.

Staff evaluate their practice and make changes that have a positive impact on children's learning. For instance, they have highlighted the importance of reading to children and enrolled them in the local library. This is helping to ensure that all children have access to books to inspire their early reading.

Older children listen to well-loved stories with great attention. They enjoy looking at the detailed features of characters and draw accurate representations of them.Partnerships with parents are good.

Staff engage parents in their children's learning and development from the very outset. Parents are complimentary. They express that 'staff take children under their wing and form a very secure bond with them'.

Relationships between staff and children are positive. Children beam with pride when receiving a reward certificate for their ability to manage their personal care needs with greater independence. They show increased levels of patience during routines, such as when waiting for their lunch to arrive.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.All staff have a good knowledge of their role in keeping children safe. Managers and leaders ensure that staff complete regular safeguarding training.

They provide informative workshops for staff to engage in, to enhance their knowledge of the wider aspects of safeguarding, such as the 'Prevent' duty. This helps to ensure that all staff are able to recognise the indicators of abuse and are familiar with the reporting requirements. Recruitment and induction procedures are robust.

The regular supervision of staff focuses on helping to improve their knowledge, skills and practice. Staffing levels are continually well maintained and any accidents and emergencies are swiftly and appropriately responded to.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen ways to use children's home languages more frequently during play, to help to build on their good communication and language skills challenge younger children with greater precision during activities, to help them to consolidate and build on their current mathematical skills more effortlessly.