Lilliput Kiddie Care

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are safe and secure in this friendly and welcoming nursery. Children arrive happy and confidently. They wave goodbye to their parents and choose what they want to do. Children relish the extensive play and learning opportunities. Younger children delight as they join in with staff's singing. Children enjoy taking part in the actions that accompany the songs. Babies confidently explore making marks in paint as they pat and sweep their hands and brushes across the paper. Children's confidence is developed very well. Parents drop children at the door, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Children have learned to adapt to the new routine and separate with ease from their carer as they are greeted by familiar key staff.

Children develop a love of reading from an early age. Toddlers choose independently to look at books from floor-level bookcases. Parents take books home to share stories with their children. Staff promote children's early literacy skills. They pronounce words clearly. They ask questions about stories to encourage children to use their thinking skills. Children learn to recognise and write letters in their name. Children begin to understand about our diverse society and develop positive attitudes to others. They learn about the emergency services that help us in the community. Staff support children to think about their own feelings as well as considering the needs of others. Children are well behaved and kind to their friends, readily sharing their toys.

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

• Leaders and staff have high expectations of what they want children to achieve. They closely monitor the progress of each child and know what they want each child to learn next. They respond swiftly, should they identify any emerging gaps in a child's learning and development. This helps to ensure that all children, including those who are in receipt of additional funding, make good progress.
• Passionate staff work hard to ensure that children are developing the skills that they need for the next stage in their learning. They gather detailed information about children's existing skills from parents. They work closely with parents to help children to consolidate new learning at home. Staff working with pre-school children have a clear plan for how they will prepare children for their move to school.
• Staff provide many opportunities for children to use their home language in their play. Staff use key words in children's own languages during play and during different parts of their routine. This supports children well with their communication and language development.
• Staff work hard to ensure that communication with parents has not been affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents speak very highly of the staff and the nursery manager. They discuss how staff know their children very well.
• One parent describes the nursery as 'going above and beyond' for their children.
• Staff assess children's learning and monitor the progress they make before planning more experiences. However, during some group activities, staff ask children too many questions, which removes the focus from the activity. For example, at story time, one staff member encourages the children to count how many fingers he is using. Another asks if they can hear and repeat words. Consequently, children become confused and do not respond appropriately.
• Staff support children well on their nursery journey. For example, when children are ready to move to the next room, they can visit their new room regularly. This helps them to become familiar with the new environment and new people. However, staff are not always successful in supporting children's transitions during everyday routines. For example, as children prepare for snack time, they are expected to wait for prolonged periods of time, noise levels rise, and some children become restless and upset.
• Children learn to be independent. Babies learn to use cutlery to feed themselves during lunch. Pre-school children are familiar with routines and tidy up at the end of activities. All children show good progress in their physical development. Older children demonstrate strength, balance and coordination when they capably ride tricycles and two-wheeled scooters.
• The management team understands the importance of supporting staff well-being. They take active steps to ensure that staff feel supported, listened to and valued. Staff attend regular supervision meetings and access a wide range of training programmes to support their ongoing professional development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff practice so they are able to support and extend children's learning during activities even more effectively
• support staff to manage transitions during daily routines, such as mealtimes, to avoid children waiting for long periods and becoming restless.