Upton Crickets Day Nursery Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive at the nursery keen and eager to start their day.

They are welcomed at the door by friendly, caring staff who know them well. This helps children feel safe and secure. The baby room staff are calm and nurturing.

Babies smile and babble at staff and turn to them for cuddles and reassurance when needed. They have ample space to crawl and strengthen the muscles they will need to be able to eventually stand and walk. Staff clap and cheer as babies who are new to crawling move towards a toy.

Babies show delight at being cheered on, and they clap along with the staff.Pre-school children and toddlers ...know the routine and what is expected of them. They confidently choose where and what they want to play with.

When pre-school children become frustrated that they cannot use a toy crane to pick up a brick, staff encourage them to think about what they could do differently. Children confidently suggest ideas about how to attach and lift the brick, which the staff encourage them to try. Children celebrate when they are successful at lifting and moving a brick with the crane.

They show pride in their achievements. Staff praise the children for working together to solve the problem and for their good thinking.

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

Staff implement a curriculum that is designed to support children to be happy and thrive.

They focus on promoting children's independence, enabling children to build secure relationships and encouraging children's communication skills. Staff use information from observations of children to plan for their individual next steps in development. They provide activities that help children build on what they already know and can do.

Overall, staff engage well with children. They listen and show genuine interest as children confidently tell them stories about what the mischievous fox, who lives in their grandparent's garden, gets up to overnight. Staff introduce new language such as 'nocturnal' and explain that this means that the fox sleeps in the day and comes out to play at night.

However, staff are not consistent in their interactions with children, they do not always use questioning techniques effectively to help children articulate what they know and think.Staff ensure that children's health is well promoted. They teach children about the need to wash their hands before eating to prevent the spread of germs, and they talk to children about why they need to brush their teeth to prevent tooth decay.

Staff provide the children with freshly prepared, nutritious and well-balanced meals. They are aware of children's individual dietary requirements and ensure that these are met. Staff use mealtimes well to promote children's independence.

Toddlers and pre-school children confidently pour their own drinks and serve their own meals.Staff share detailed information with parents about their child's day. Parents comment that their children thrive at the nursery.

They enjoy a wide range of activities, including taking part in forest school sessions. However, the process to share information with parents about children's next steps in learning is not effective. Parents are not provided with information to enable them to extend children's learning at home.

Staff support children effectively to learn about the traditions, cultures and festivals that others in their community celebrate. They encourage children to be aware of and proud about what makes them individual and unique. Staff talk to children about how Bramley cooking apples originated in the local market town of Southwell.

In recognition of the Bramley Apple Festival being held in the market town, the staff make apple crumbles with the children.Staff are good role models. They set clear boundaries and consistently encourage children to share and play cooperatively.

When children have occasional disagreements, staff support them to resolve the conflict. They talk to children about the need to be kind to their friends and think about the impact that their actions have on others.Children's knowledge of counting and numbers is well promoted by staff.

Staff encourage the pre-school children to count the amount of balls that bounce off a parachute while they are playing with it. Staff play alongside children and model language in relation to size, weight and capacity. As toddlers fill and empty containers with water, staff talk to them about the containers being full and empty, heavy, light and needing more or less water.

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: develop staff's knowledge of how to support children's communication and language skills further share purposeful information with parents to help them extend their children's learning at home.