The Rainbow Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children, and their families, are at the heart of this inclusive setting.

Relationships throughout the setting are extremely positive. Staff are kind, patient and supportive of children. This is especially true for children with special educational needs and/ or disabilities (SEND).

Children with speech and language delays enjoy a small-group activity. They practise turn-taking as they wait their turn to push their car down the ramp. They repeat simple three-word phrases, such as 'ready, steady, go!'.

Staff support the children's critical thinking skills by allowing them time to work out why a chain of cars wi...ll not slide down the ramp.Children thoroughly enjoy playing outdoors and being physically active. Babies explore different textures in a barefoot trail.

Toddlers confidently make marks in sand and on the whiteboards. They proudly show off the marks they have made. Children cheer with excitement and delight when it is their turn in the woodland area.

They climb, balance and jump off crates. Staff support and encourage them to take risks. Children role play as they make a soup on the pretend campfire.

They talk about the ingredients and consider what they need to add next. Outdoor play opportunities support the setting's curriculum wonderfully.Children respond well to directions from staff, supported by familiar routines.

Staff use opportunities to remind children of the setting's rules. For example, when children find a spider in the woodland, they are reminded that they need to respect nature.

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

The setting places a strong focus on supporting children's communication and language development.

Staff use a communication toolkit to monitor children's speech development. This helps them to provide early intervention and targeted support should a child need it.On the whole, the setting has developed a strong curriculum, aiming to give children a wide range of skills, knowledge and experiences.

However, the curriculum for mathematics is not consistently strong across the setting. Pre-school children hear a range of mathematical language in their play. For example, staff use daily routines, such as lining up for outdoor play, to encourage children to count and order themselves from tallest to shortest.

However, younger children are not exposed to the same level of mathematical concepts and language.Children develop a love of books, enhanced by a lending library that means children can enjoy books at home too. Children enjoy reading alone and with friends.

Staff use story time to introduce and explore new words and concepts with children. For example, they discuss their understanding of the word 'silent' and explore what Christmas means to them.All staff across the setting monitor children's development and plan a range of focused activities to support children's learning.

However, staff in the baby room do not always provide high-quality interactions and support for the youngest children during free-play experiences. This means that the youngest children are sometimes left for long periods with no meaningful adult interaction to promote their learning to the highest level.The management team works closely together with staff to continually enhance the setting.

Staff and managers report high levels of support and well-being. This is helped by a well-established supervision process. Staff have access to a range of professional training opportunities.

This contributes to a consistently good quality of teaching.Support for children with SEND is very good. Staff have high expectations for all children.

Highly effective development plans and targets, along with excellent working relationships with other professionals who are also involved in children's care, mean that children make the best progress they are capable of. The management team carefully considers the best use of inclusion funding. Staff have established strong links with the on-site school to ensure continuity of care.

All children make good progress in their personal development. Babies are supported to feed themselves using age-appropriate cutlery. Toddlers scrape away their own food after lunch and place their dirty dishes in the sink.

Older children put on their own coats and shoes. The curriculum supports children to build continually on their independence skills.Parents are highly complimentary about the setting.

They comment on the progress their children have made since attending the setting. They receive frequent invites to stay-and-play events at the setting, where they can engage in play activities with their children. Parents comment that their experience feels 'personal'.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen staff's knowledge of how to promote mathematics in younger children's play to further enhance children's early mathematical knowledge support staff to consistently deliver high-quality interactions for the youngest children during free-play experiences to enable them to make the best possible progress in their learning.