Sunshine Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children and parents receive a warm and friendly welcome from the manager and staff.

Children happily separate from their parents and follow the well-established routines of the nursery. They develop strong bonds with their key person and other staff. Children receive an abundance of encouragement and praise for their achievements, which helps to boost their self-esteem and sense of belonging.

Children learn through an effective balance of enjoyable adult-led activities and child-initiated play. All children, including those with special educational and/or disabilities, make good progress from their starting points. Ch...ildren learn to share, take turns and use their manners with gentle reminders from staff.

Children make independent choices on the direction of their play. They have lots of fun while they experiment with paints and make marks using paintbrushes. Children explore water and learn to pour and use their small-muscle skills.

This helps to develop children's hand-to-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Babies confidently explore the well-resourced environment with support from staff. They show delight when exploring lights and music on colourful interactive toys.

Children learn about the diverse world in which they live. For example, children celebrate and explore cultures that are different from their own and recognise the many different languages children speak.

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

The manager and staff are dedicated and passionate about achieving the highest standards of care and learning in an inclusive environment and family-oriented ethos.

Staff are professional and clearly enjoy working at the nursery. They talk enthusiastically about the progress children make. The manager carries out regular supervision sessions and provides staff with professional development opportunities, which helps to support their practice and children's needs.

Before children start at the nursery, staff gather key information from parents to support settling-in arrangements and planning. Staff speak to parents daily and use an online learning journal to share children's progress and next steps in learning. They also share daily videos, in real time, of children's learning and achievements.

Parents say their children love being at the nursery and they can see the progress they make.Staff are caring and sensitive to children's needs. Babies receive cuddles from the nurturing staff, who create a calming environment.

Staff consistently share positive interactions with babies and encourage them to explore sensory resources, such as musical instruments.Children learn about the benefits of healthy foods and adopt healthy habits, such as handwashing before eating. Staff provide children with healthy and nutritious home-cooked meals and snacks.

Children have opportunities to take risks and develop independence. For example, older children prepare their own snack. They grate carrots, spread butter onto crackers and cut up apples.

Staff provide children with enjoyable whole-group activities. However, they are less skilled in encouraging and engaging with children who are quieter and less confident, to support their engagement in learning fully.Staff promote children's communication and language development effectively, including those who speak English as an additional language.

For example, children learn new words through conversations, singing songs and listening to stories. Staff interact positively with children. They offer a narrative while they play and weave in some additional learning, such as counting.

However, on occasions, staff do not provide children with the time to think critically for themselves, problem-solve and test out ideas. This limits children's development of these skills.Children have lots of opportunities to explore and become curious learners in the well-resourced outdoor classroom.

They engage in imaginative role play with their friends, and staff extend children's understanding of the world. Children take part in growing and harvesting fruit and vegetables. This helps children to understand where their food comes from and extend their knowledge of growth.

Staff support children to develop their physical skills. They engage children in games and activities that help to strengthen their balance, movement and coordination, such as skittles and physical circle games.The manager has developed strong links with the staff at local schools that children are due to attend.

She invites teachers into the nursery to visit children prior to them starting school. This helps to ensure smooth transitions in children's future learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The manager and staff team have a good understanding of their responsibilities to keep children safe. They are aware of possible signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk of neglect and abuse. The manager and staff are mindful of broader safeguarding concerns.

The manager follows safe recruitment procedures to check the suitability of new staff and ongoing suitability of existing staff. The manager and staff are vigilant about safety and put in place a range of procedures to help ensure the safety of children at all times.

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 help children to further develop their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills and to share their ideas develop the already good teaching further, to consistently support less-confident children to actively engage during group activities.

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