LIA Gems

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a warm and welcoming environment where all children feel happy, settled and confident. Staff are skilled in supporting and nurturing children to reach their potential. The ambitious and carefully structured curriculum enables every child to make progress. Staff know children well and provide activities that engage and motivate children to learn. Children are interested and eager to join in. For example, older children gather round enthusiastically during story time and demonstrate their understanding of familiar fairy tales. They handle books carefully and demonstrate a clear enjoyment of reading. Younger children play happily with their friends, taking turns with the resources. They beam with delight as practitioners sing songs and encourage children to copy the animal noises.

Staff are positive role models and sensitively guide and support children to understand what is expected of them. Children are polite and behave well. Children show kindness and respect for one another. They spontaneously clap to acknowledge a friend's achievements. Children understand the importance of following a healthy lifestyle. They consistently wash their hands at appropriate times, wash their face after eating and learn how to look after their teeth through daily brushing. Children benefit from regular opportunities to get fresh air and to develop and practise their physical skills outside. Children enjoy having the freedom to run, jump and climb. This has a positive impact on children's well-being.

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

• Staff have a clear understanding of each child's individual needs and interests. This enables them to plan meaningful activities that fully motivate children, build on their skills and help them to make progress. Children engage well with their learning and sustain their concentration. For example, when playing a game of hopscotch, children carefully listen to instructions and try hard to master linking two movements together. When playing, they use their mathematical skills to count in order and recognise number symbols.
• Children are fully supported to develop their independence skills. They confidently use cutlery at mealtimes, carefully serving their own meals and pouring their drinks. Staff consistently praise and encourage children's efforts, which motivates children to try new experiences and to persevere with more challenging tasks. This helps children to develop positive self-esteem.
• Leaders and managers have worked hard since the last inspection to monitor and improve practice. Systems to evaluate the provision are effective and ensure children are safe, well cared for and make progress. Further training is identified for staff to increase their knowledge and understanding in relevant areas, such as promoting positive behaviour with children and supporting children's communication skills.
• Staff build strong relationships with parents. Parents speak highly of the nursery and comment how well staff nurture children and help them to grow in confidence. Staff ensure that parents are fully involved in and well informed about their children's learning. Staff share ideas and send home resources to help parents practise key skills with their child to support their learning and development.
• Staff successfully support children to value each other's differences and to recognise what makes everyone unique. They provide a range of resources that reflect children's home backgrounds, for example, with some of the utensils provided in the role play areas and at mealtimes. This helps children to feel reassured.
• Children are well behaved and develop good manners and social skills. This is supported by the positive relationships they develop with each other and staff. Snack and mealtimes are a lovely social time when children enjoy engaging in conversation, discussing what their favourite foods are and what they enjoy doing.
• The manager uses additional funding effectively to meet the individual learning needs of all children. Carefully chosen resources are purchased that enable staff to focus on identified areas of learning. For example, additional small-world toys help staff to increase children's fine motor skills in addition to supporting children's language skills. Staff work hard to ensure all children achieve the best outcomes.
• Staff generally support children well to develop confident communication skills. They provide a wide range of activities to promote this, such as regular story and singing times. Staff are skilled in developing children's language and vocabulary through discussion and questioning. However, at times, staff do not moderate the volume or tone of their voice to ensure all children engage fully in interactions.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to implement the most effective strategies to engage children's attention when developing their communication and language skills.