Little Crickets Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter this nursery with excitement, and staff are enthusiastic in their welcome. Staff create a homely but very lively learning environment, where children flourish. All children settle quickly due to the exceptional warmth and care that they receive. Staff are exemplary role models. Their overriding commitment to the children and families means they provide the very best care and education. The environment allows children to flourish and develop confidence and independence. For example, they are able to make choices about what they play with, and older children independently manage their own clothing and hygiene.

Children enjoy a wealth of opportunities to explore the world around them and understand the seasons. This includes visits to the local woods to see spring flowers as they start to grow. Children start to develop an understanding of a plant's life cycle. They plant marigold seeds so they can observe them growing. As they plant the seeds, older children prove their understanding as they comment that the seeds 'will need lots of sunshine and water to grow'. Children also observe spring flowers and enjoy painting tulips. They excitedly choose the colour they want to paint with and try and match it to the flower. Younger children maintain focus and capably attempt to mix the colours they wish to make. Staff skilfully help children to describe what they can see and help them to carry out their ideas. Older children expand their vocabulary further as staff model language, such as 'stem', 'bud' and 'petal', as they paint.

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

• The curriculum intent is clearly evident. Staff are confident and understand the skills children require to make progress. The quality of teaching is outstanding, and staff demonstrate that they understand how young children learn. Staff meticulously plan a breadth of activities based on children's interests and their next steps in learning. As a result, children are eager to learn and make rapid progress from their individual starting points.
• Staff have high expectations of all the children. They establish excellent partnerships with other professionals involved in children's care and learning. Children who speak English as an additional language receive wonderful support, and staff successfully extend their understanding and language skills. For example, they have one-to-one time with staff to learn new English words, and staff gather some keywords from children's home language. During large-group time, staff are effective in the way in which they engage children. For example, they always include actions as they sing. This helps all children to fully take part and helps to prepare them for their next stage in learning.
• Staff place a strong focus on the promotion of children's language skills. Children enjoy a wide range of stories and practise new words, such as 'squelch' and
• 'squash', from their favourite books. They also sing lots of rhymes and songs. This happens quite naturally as part of their routine and play. For example, children love to sing the 'tidy up' song at the end of the session. Pre-school children are confident talkers who are able to explain their thoughts and ideas. For example, they say, 'I am going to take my binoculars to the window. I can see birds in the sky.'
• Staff promote children's physical development extremely well. They support them to play with bats and balls and teach them how to throw and catch balls. Older children are starting to ride bicycles with confidence. Indoors, children are able to use a trowel to scoop soil into a plant pot from a bag. They use their finger and thumb to pick a seed up and place it in the soil. They then use their hands and fingers to push and pat the soil down. Children have plenty of opportunities in which to develop essential small- and large-muscle skills.
• Parents comment that the team is attentive and supports children remarkably well. They say that staff share regular updates on children's learning and discuss ways to support their child at home. Parents describe the nursery as 'inclusive', 'homely' and 'always there to help families'. They highlight the incredible support shown during the COVID-19 pandemic, when children were unable to attend.
• Staff provide a breadth of interesting activities for children to explore different cultures and faiths and enhance their understanding of others. For example, children visit local places of worship, including the local Sikh temple and a church. Children also learn about each other's experiences through dance, music and food. Staff help children to celebrate differences. Children listen to stories from a range of dual-language books.
• The manager has a clear vision to drive the nursery forward. Staff feel valued and supported in their roles. This has a strong impact on their well-being and personal development.