Smiles Nurseries Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

This nursery is unique in that it has no outdoor play space on site.

Despite this, children enjoy superb opportunities to be part of the community. They get fresh air and take daily walks to the park, local beauty spots and to the shops. Local residents, who are clearly used to meeting the children out and about, greet them warmly with a wave.

Additionally, children get excellent opportunities to develop their physical skills in a large, indoor garden room. They can swing, climb and balance on the large equipment.Children of all ages have access to a wide range of resources to help extend their imagination and curiosit...y.

Babies watch and copy staff, who show them how to make 'floury' dinosaur footprints in play dough. Older toddlers use a variety of artefacts to help them pretend to make 'cow's milk'. Pre-school children thoroughly enjoy the role-play experiences in the secret room, which they access via a child-height opening.

Children make independent choices where to play and spend a long time exploring and investigating.Babies show determination and perseverance. They attempt to climb 'rope nets' at the park.

Staff gently guide them to more achievable activities that provide a safe and appropriate level of challenge. Staff all show their pride in babies' achievements, this helps to develop babies' sense of accomplishment.

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

The manager is very experienced and displays a strong commitment to providing good quality experiences for the children.

Staff value the supervision sessions and appraisals they receive and feel supported to carry out their roles and responsibilities.Staff make good use of spontaneous opportunities for learning. For instance, when out walking, pre-school children discover an animal skull.

Later in the day, staff encourage children to wear gloves for hygiene reasons and they explore the skull. Children comment, 'I think a T-rex was fighting with a sabre tooth tiger in the field'. Staff provide a narrative and ask questions of children, which helps to encourage their vocabulary.

This activity provokes rich language and inspires children's vivid imagination, they say, 'I think the rest of the body is in the ground.' Staff provide a curriculum that gives children a wealth of rich experiences based on their current interests. Older toddlers show an interest in minibeasts.

Staff provide them with a selection of different materials and spoons. Children use their hand-to-eye coordination to create their own bug habitats. Staff play alongside children.

However, occasionally staff teaching does not always challenge and extend children to build on what they already know and can do.Parents often tell staff they do not provide their children with messy play activities at home. Because of this staff offer lots of opportunities for children to get messy in the nursery.

Children enjoy playing in the mud kitchen and getting wet when playing with water. These opportunities enhance children's enjoyment and encourage them to use their senses to learn about the world around them.The support that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive is very good.

The manager uses additional funding to implement personalised support. This ensures that children make very good progress. For instance, funding money has been used to buy turn-taking games.

This has a positive impact on children's social skills.Mealtimes are a sociable affair, where staff and children eat together. Children enjoy a home-cooked meal packed full of vegetables, some children asking for 'More please' three times.

There is a strong emphasis on ensuring children lead and understand a healthy lifestyle. Staff discuss with children why the vegetables they are eating are healthy for them.Staff use subtle behaviour management techniques to help children learn to share.

They suggest 'Play for a little while, then we can decide who was playing with it first.' This helps children learn how to play together cooperatively.Staff value parents.

For instance, they know parents are often busy in the morning, so they offer them a 'breakfast basket' of food and drink to help themselves to. Parents speak highly of their children's experiences at the nursery. They say their children's speech and confidence has grown.

Comments include 'They come home with a smile on their face, full of beans and they are thriving.'

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff recognise the signs that a child may be at risk of being harmed, including being exposed to extreme views.

They know the procedures to follow to report a concern regarding a child's well-being, including reporting a concern about a colleagues' behaviour or conduct. The manager has safe recruitment procedures in place to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Staff teach children road safety when out and about in the community.

Children adhere to rules, such as holding the walking rope when walking by the road. This helps children to keep safe.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to consistently use opportunities to extend and challenge children's learning through their play experiences.