Leaping Lilies

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders and staff work with parents to help reduce barriers to children's learning and development. Staff collect detailed information about children before they start at the setting. Staff use 'All about me' documents for any children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff learn key words in children's home languages to ensure each child feels included. Parents receive regular feedback, attend parents' meetings and discuss strategies with staff to support children's progress.

Leaders typically ensure that important information about each child's individual needs, routines and the support they need is shared with relevant staff as they transition between rooms. This helps staff to understand children's needs from the outset and provide consistent support so that transitions are successful. Children who had recently transitioned were well settled and playing happily alongside their peers.

Relevant staff are aware of how to meet children's needs, particularly children with SEND, and generally make adaptations for them. For example, children have access to sensory toys, such as spinning chairs or a dark den, to help meet their needs. Leaders use funding effectively, for example, by purchasing specific resources to support individual children's interests and needs.

Staff work effectively with other professionals to support younger children's development skills. They use signs alongside spoken word to help children communicate their wants and needs. For example, staff model signs, such as 'please' and 'thank you', and reinforce these through rhymes and action songs. This inclusive approach provides children with different ways to communicate and participate, including those who are not yet able to express themselves through spoken language.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

Leaders have created a curriculum that they would like children to experience. However, this is not fully embedded in practice. At times, the curriculum intention is not fully aligned to children's ages and stages of development in each room. As a result, all children do not experience effective teaching.

Staff generally support children's communication and language development, for example, by narrating their play and asking questions. However, at times, too many questions are asked, and the focus on learning is unclear. Staff read books to children throughout the day, and children join in enthusiastically with familiar stories. Older children enjoy stories, including 'The Gruffalo', and staff use words, such as 'hiss' as children make the sounds. This practice helps children to use and understand new words.

Children's physical skills are promoted well. They enjoy daily play opportunities outside and learn to move in different ways. For instance, staff support older children to carefully walk across large blocks and show them how to hold their arms out to help them balance. Staff provide wheeled toys for younger children to practise balancing and support children to use these confidently. Inside, staff encourage babies to be physically independent, for example, to sit independently as they explore the sand. Staff consider ways to adapt activities so that all children can participate in all activities.

Staff weave mathematical learning into play. However, concepts are not always well matched to the age of the children. As a result, children are introduced to concepts before they fully understand previous learning.

Achievement: Needs attention

Children do not consistently benefit from learning experiences that build on what children already know and can do. This is because not all staff have a secure understanding of learning and development. This means children do not consistently build on their knowledge and skills through purposeful play to better prepare them for their next stages of learning.

Children make some progress in their communication and language development and enjoy singing songs and reading books with adults. Older children join in with stories, such as 'The Gruffalo', and clearly know their favourite books. However, children experience reduced opportunities for learning when some activities are not well planned or consistently matched to their ages or stages of development.

Children clearly benefit from a focus on personal, social and emotional development, reflected in well-established routines supporting early independence. They play kindly alongside one another and know what is coming next in their day. As a result, children are calm and settled.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders provide a welcoming environment where children typically develop a sense of belonging and a keen attitude to learning. Staff help children make friends and focus on this as children settle into their new rooms at the start of term.

Practitioners model and support behaviour positively throughout the setting. Children are taught to have 'kind hands and feet' and show they understand this as they gently stroke a 'Gruffalo' toy. Leaders provide resources for children who may need help to keep calm, such as daily sensory-based activities and a spinning chair.

Routines are predictable and generally well organised. This helps children feel settled as they move into their new room. Toddlers sensibly walk to the garden holding each other's shoulders, and older babies go to an adult to have their face wiped after lunch.

Leaders fully recognise the importance of children attending regularly and arriving on time. They work closely with parents, who understand the procedures for reporting absences.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

The setting creates a warm, caring and nurturing environment where children feel safe, settled and emotionally secure. Younger babies play peekaboo with staff and giggle as they share the scarf with the adults. Older babies confidently play under a parachute and laugh as they fall over.

Staff ensure that children sleep comfortably and safely and have all completed safe sleep training. Toddlers follow the routine of lunch, then sleep, and they happily go to their sleep mat.

The setting provides well-balanced nutritious meals and snacks that meet special dietary needs. Children become more independent at mealtimes as they move through the nursery. Younger children learn how to use cutlery independently, and older children learn to serve themselves and then scrape their plates. Mealtimes are sociable experiences as staff and children talk about how to make healthy choices and share their likes and dislikes.

Children enjoy daily opportunities in the outdoor garden where they can use wheeled toys, balance, slide and climb. Staff play alongside children, challenging them to find new ways to move or use equipment. This helps children of all ages develop their large-muscle skills as well as their hand and finger skills, whilst also building confidence.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

Frequent changes in the leadership team and staff arrangements have impacted on the quality and consistency of practice and provision. Consequently, this has resulted in variations in the quality of learning and experiences available to the children. Leaders understand their roles and responsibilities in meeting the early years foundation stage requirements and are passionate about further improving the setting. Leaders are generally aware of the areas that need further development within the setting. However, changes are in the early stages and have not yet had sufficient impact.

Leaders have taken some steps to build relationships with parents and carers, but partnership working is not yet effective. Not all parents know who their child's key person is, what their children's next steps in learning are or how they can extend learning at home.

Staff feel well supported by leaders and appreciate the regular check ins and supervision. However, workload is high for some members of staff, due to recent changes in staffing. Leaders do not consistently ensure that their strongest members of staff are deployed well to drive improvements in practice and in children's learning outcomes.