In our baby room, we focus on sensory play, which helps the babies focus and engage with their senses, helping them develop language and motor skills. Sensory stimulation can also support holistic development as well as communication and social skills, and encourage creative and independent thinking. Household items to create percussion instruments and use their imagination with homemade instruments.

In our explorers and inventors, for our holistic sensory play, we focus on activities that engage multiple senses and allow for exploration and creativity. Sensory bins filled with different textures like mixed rice, dried beans, or pasta, along with objects to manipulate and provide scoops, cups,  and small toys for pouring and scooping. Cotton Ball Art: encourage children to create different shapes and designs with cotton balls, paint, and glue,  creating fun, messy play. Indoor Obstacles Course: using pillows and blankets, and other household items such as chairs and toy baskets.

Outdoor play with Edible Mud and Worms: mix flour,  water, food colouring, and add safe edible worms for a fun, messy play experience. Garden Scavenger Hunts: Children engage with the natural world by collecting leaves, sticks, and other natural items to create their own sensory bin to help children develop a curious and natural sense of exploration. Finding a dinosaur in taste-safe mud and animal rescue is an excellent example of messy play activities and promotes a multi-sensory experience.

The provision is good. Children are happy within the nursery. Staff engage with them enthusiastically. They change the tone of their voices to support children when engaging in activities. Staff are caring. For example, they notice when children need reassurance and offer a cuddle to help them to feel secure. These positive interactions help children to develop secure relationships with staff. Staff consistently offer positive praise. They say, 'well done' and give children high fives when they complete a task for themselves. This contributes to children developing their self-esteem. Children behave well, this is supported by staff. Staff use language, such as 'gentle hands' and 'good sharing'. This ensures that children understand what is expected from them. Children join in with singing songs about the next part of their day. For example, they sing a song about washing their hands as they prepare for this task. This prepares children for upcoming routine changes. Children learn about the natural world around them. They look through magnifying glasses in the garden. They look at snails and talk about where they live. Staff explain to children where milk comes from, using the toy cow. Younger children also enjoy learning about animals. They enjoy making the sounds that animals make. This gives children opportunities to learn about different animals in a vast number of ways.  

To read more, follow the link: https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50245932