Little Bear's 2 Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff are kind and foster children's sense of belonging well at this inclusive and well-resourced nursery. Staff greet children warmly as they arrive. Children show that they feel at home. They happily separate from their parents as they go into their rooms.

Leaders plan a wide-ranging curriculum that includes meaningful experiences across all areas of children's development. For example, staff support children as they learn about growth and change by feeding the setting's African snails. Children excitedly predict what might happen next as they add bicarbonate of soda and other substances to paint.

Staff have calm dispositions as they interact with children. They pay attention whenever children speak. Children reflect this during their own conversations. They respectfully listen to each other speak at group times.

Staff cuddle and reassure children whenever they need it. This helps children to settle and build secure relationships with staff. Toddlers keep staff in view as they confidently explore. Babies exert their preferences using single words and gestures. Pre-school children independently choose from the wide range of learning opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge.

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

• Staff promote children's school readiness and independence effectively. Children confidently serve their own food portions and scrape their plates at mealtimes. They demonstrate positive attitudes to moving on to their formal education. Children handle scissors and writing tools competently. They excitedly comment, 'I'm going to big school'.
• Staff enable children's good early literacy, communication and language development. Children enjoy listening to staff read stories. They independently choose books to look at. Children have opportunities to engage in immersive story times. This furthers their love of stories. Staff extend children's good vocabulary further during their interactions. For example, staff teach children to use alternative words, such as 'tentacles' and 'gigantic', as they describe the features of living things.
• Staff keenly support children's physical development. They encourage and challenge children to travel across balancing equipment. Babies confidently toddle, push and scuttle as they ride on pedal toys. Older children enjoy digging, filling and scooping sand outdoors. Despite this, at times, staff working with the youngest children do not consistently provide outdoor activities that match babies' individual stages of development. Consequently, not all children have high-quality outdoor experiences.
• Staff help children to develop positive attitudes to learning. They praise, support and encourage children. Older children concentrate and persevere as they cooperatively build structures from jumbo bricks. Children focus well during their chosen activities, and remain engaged during those led by staff.
• The manager, who is also the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo), effectively supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and their families. Staff use a visual communication system to support children's understanding of activities and everyday routines. The SENCo ensures that referrals to other professionals are timely. She works together with them to support children's learning and development. Additional funding is used to provide children with small-group interventions for more-individualised learning. This helps all children to progress in their learning.
• Parents appreciate the daily feedback they receive about their children and comment that their children are happy to come to the nursery. They feel they are kept updated about wider developments in the nursery and their children's overall progress. However, parent partnerships are not consistently strong. Not all parents receive the support necessary from staff to understand how they can support their children at home or help them progress towards their next steps.
• Overall, staff have a good understanding of their roles and the provider's intent for children's learning. They feel at ease to contribute ideas, which leaders value. Staff say that leaders show concern for their well-being and keep their workloads manageable.
• Leaders reflect on practice and strive for continuous improvement for children's overall experiences. At the time of the inspection, they had reconfigured the learning environment to create a sensory room. They envisage that this will further enhance children's sensory opportunities and provide a much needed space for quieter, small-group intervention.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the practice of staff working with babies further so that children's outdoor learning experiences consistently reflect their stage of development
• strengthen parent partnership so all parents receive the support necessary to understand how they can support their children's home learning and progress them towards their next steps.