Little Acorns Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a safe and homely environment for children to explore. Children separate from their parents with ease and quickly settle into their play. They have strong and trusting relationships with staff, who get to know them well. Staff are nurturing and engage in sensitive, caring interactions with children. This helps children to feel happy and promotes their emotional well-being. Staff teach children about the importance of sharing and turn taking. They model positive behaviour and remind children about good manners. Children behave well and understand what is expected of them at nursery.

Staff plan opportunities for children to get to know the local community. For example, they use public transport to take children to visit the theatre. Staff take children to the local parks and on walks. As a result, children's knowledge and understanding of their local community is strong.

Staff place a priority on books at the nursery, which helps children to experience the joy of reading from a very young age. For example, babies explore tactile books and snuggle with staff as they share stories together. Staff place related books close by each activity at the nursery. Children are often seen looking at books independently. Staff enjoy reading stories with children. They use their voices and changes in tone to bring the story to life.

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

• Staff find out what children know and can do. They identify gaps in children's learning. Staff use additional funding effectively to promote children's individual needs and interests. Where children need expert support, staff work with external agencies to seek out help. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, reach their developmental milestones.
• Staff talk and sing to children a lot. They engage in back-and-forth conversations and teach children descriptive words, such as 'crunchy' and 'squashy'. Older children confidently express their views and opinions. However, staff in the baby room do not always consider the impact of unnecessary dummy use on children's communication and language development. They encourage children to talk and sing with dummies in their mouths, which hinders their speaking skills.
• Children make choices about where they would like to play. They are relaxed and content. Babies demonstrate persistence and good hand-eye coordination, such as when feeding themselves with cutlery. Toddlers use tools and their hands to manipulate dough into various shapes. Older children skilfully use pedals outside to ride bicycles. They have good pen control and demonstrate strength in their finger muscles as they draw pictures and learn to write their names. The curriculum for physical development is well embedded.
• Children develop a secure understanding of numbers, counting and size through some planned learning opportunities. For example, they count and measure ingredients as they make biscuits. Staff play alongside children and introduce mathematical language, such as 'heavy' and 'light', as they fill and empty containers in the sand. This helps to develop children's early mathematical skills.
• Managers have an effective oversight of quality in the nursery. They demonstrate an accurate insight into areas for future development, which focus on continuing to support the quality of education to further improve children's learning and development. For example, managers intend to extend the outdoor environment to provide greater opportunities for children who prefer to play outdoors.
• Managers demonstrate a great commitment to supporting and developing the staff team. They prioritise staff's well-being and professional development. Staff have a clear and extensive programme of support for all staff that begins during a well-planned induction. Managers invest in the team through individual observations, supervision sessions and staff briefings to support all staff to grow and learn. Staff comment on the support they are offered and especially comment on the support available to them for their well-being.
• Partnerships with parents are a real strength of the setting. Parents are involved and informed about their children's learning. Staff provide ideas and suggestions to parents about how they can support their children's learning at home. Parents speak very highly about the nurturing staff and how well they accommodate children's individual needs.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff in the baby room to develop a greater understanding of how to promote children's speaking skills, with particular regard to the use of dummies.