Scallywags Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children have plenty of opportunities to be physical. In the nursery garden, two-year-old children ride on and push tricycles with their feet when they go up and down a small hill. Babies enjoy the support they receive when staff hold their hands as they begin to take their first steps.

This contributes to children developing strength in their bodies. Three-year-old children show good imagination. They attach tape to different pieces of equipment and tell staff that they have made a 'bridge'.

Staff support children to understand words that link to actions. For instance, one-year-old children hear staff say 'mix, mix, m...ix' when they use tools to stir water in a jug. Children show excitement when they try new experiences.

For instance, one-year-old children smile when they copy staff to make sounds into a plastic pipe in the garden. Children hear their voice as an echo and begin to learn how the sound of their voice can change. Children behave well.

They take turns and learn to share when they use paints and brushes. Children are happy and show positive relationships with staff and their peers. An example of this is when one-year-old children show delight when they splash in water.

They laugh with their friends and staff. Children of all ages go to staff for cuddles and show that they feel safe and secure.

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

Since the last inspection, the management team has made good improvements to the provision.

For instance, staff find out about children's achievements when they first start. This, along with their ongoing observations and assessments of children's abilities, helps them to identify what children need to learn next. Staff help children to develop skills for future learning and their eventual move on to school.

For instance, when they read stories to children, staff use different tones in their voice. This helps to maintain children's attention. Children listen well and concentrate.

The management team supports staff and ensures their well-being. Staff attend supervision meetings to reflect on their practice and to identify further professional development opportunities. Recent relevant in-house training supports staff to be consistent in managing children's behaviour.

They give children plenty of praise and encouragement, such as saying 'well done'. This helps to raise children's self-esteem.Overall, staff support children's communication and language skills well.

They sing nursery rhymes with children, which contributes to developing children's speaking skills. However, staff do not always make the best use of conversations with children to broaden their understanding during play. One example of this is when staff talk to children about the moon.

When children say that the moon is flat, staff do not clarify that the moon's surface is bumpy.Staff place a high priority on supporting children's personal, social and emotional development. For example, when children first start, they attend for short sessions and increase this time gradually.

This helps children to become familiar with staff and the environment. Staff find out from parents about children's care needs and interests. They use this information to promote the same routines for children in the nursery and to provide activities that children enjoy.

Children settle quickly, show that they are emotionally secure and engage well in learning.Staff enhance the experiences children receive at home. They are aware that some babies and one-year-old children do not have opportunities for messy play at home.

Because of this, they offer children these experiences in the nursery, such as playing with sand and water. This enables babies and one-year-old children to explore different textures.During the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the management team provided parents and carers with ideas for activities to support their children's learning at home.

This was because not all children attended the nursery during this time. However, now that all children are back at the nursery, staff have not continued to offer this guidance for parents and carers to help them to continue children's learning at home.The management team and staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well.

For instance, individual staff spend one-to-one time with children with SEND. Children form close relationships with these members of staff, who meet their needs well. The children listen to staff, give them good eye contact and cuddles.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The management team and staff demonstrate a good understanding of child protection. They know the signs that could suggest a child is at risk of harm, abuse or exposure to extreme views.

The management team and staff know where to report concerns about children's safety. Staff regularly take part in a quiz to ensure that their knowledge of safeguarding is current. This helps to promote children's safety.

Staff maintain a safe environment. They use safety gates across the entrances to some areas of the nursery. This is to stop children accessing these areas on their own.

Staff ensure that children wear sun hats when they play outdoors. This helps to promote sun safety and their good health.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: develop staff's skills in how to help children to build on their knowledge during play so that what children learn is accurate noffer parents and carers ideas and guidance to help them to continue their children's learning at home.