Little Explorers Day Nursery & Preschool

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff hold high expectations for every child. They place a high priority on ensuring all children are fully included and supported. Leaders rigorously monitor children when they start, and during their time in the setting. This helps them to swiftly identify gaps in their learning. Leaders and staff work closely with external professionals and parents and carers to secure highly effective and targeted support for all children. They put shared strategies in place to ensure consistency and to fully meet all children's individual needs. For example, inclusion experts visit the setting to observe children. They work with leaders and staff to develop impactful strategies and next steps.

Leaders and staff provide highly effective partnership work with families and help them to clearly understand their child's needs and how to support their development at home. They join parents for visits to new schools and meetings with professionals when required. They support parents during these meetings and help to answer questions. Leaders ensure all staff understand each child's needs and how to maximise learning no matter what barriers the children may have. Children benefit from this consistent approach and understanding of the strategies and adaptations that result in children effectively accessing learning. For example, children are able to join in with large group times with one-on-one support which develops their confidence and social skills.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders and staff have implemented a highly ambitious curriculum. They have worked hard to plan a progressive curriculum that develops children's key skills for life. The curriculum widens children's understanding of the world around them, while following their individual interests and needs. Staff use in-depth information from parents and carers before children start and initial observations to develop robust starting points for children's learning. This helps staff to know what children can do and identify potential gaps in their learning that may require additional support. Staff get to know children and their families well. This helps them to adapt learning to promote positive outcomes.

Leaders provide targeted training for staff and monitor the quality of interactions with children. Staff offer consistent support for children's learning and understand what children need to learn next. For instance, they know babies need to develop strength in their tummy muscles and core strength. Staff therefore provide activities and support to achieve this. They understand how to build children's communication skills. For instance, staff start with simple words for babies and model more complex and longer sentences as children progress.

Although, mealtimes require further development, staff have a clear idea of the knowledge and skills they want children to develop. For example, they build children's mathematical skills through songs, games and modelling accurate counting. They introduce key words such as 'empty', 'full' and language for directions. Staff introduce key vocabulary and build children's love of books throughout the nursery. Children enjoy learning the words and rhymes in the 'books of the week'. They choose to sit with books and re-tell stories during the day and ask staff to read to them.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children make excellent progress across all areas of development, including children with their barriers to learning and development. Despite some small changes required for children at mealtimes, they still develop key skills, such as high levels of self-esteem, confidence and a love of learning. Children are extremely prepared for the next stages of learning and development, including starting school. They benefit from highly supportive transitions into the nursery and through the different rooms as they get older. For example, they receive bespoke settling-in routines that ensures children are familiar with staff and new learning environments before moving to the next rooms in the nursery. Children learn what to expect when they start school through role play, where they practise putting on physical education kits and uniforms for their school. They look at pictures of their new school and discuss these with staff. Children benefit from staff ensuring new teachers have an in-depth understanding of the children's needs and work closely with new schools for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders ensure staff provide excellent levels of modelling respect and care to others. Staff prioritise building communicative relationships with children and teaching them how to be kind. They provide positive praise and are clear about the behaviours they want to see from children. Children benefit from these high expectations for their interactions and behaviour. They learn the rules of the setting and remind others of what they need to do, such as using 'walking feet' and 'kinds hands'. This demonstrates these expectations are thoroughly embedded.

Children are extremely kind and thoughtful to others. For example, toddlers find a spider and know to capture it gently and carefully before releasing it outside. Children play very harmoniously together and behave exceptionally well. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn to communicate positively. For instance, they learn to use sign language and visual cards to share their needs. Children with SEND become familiar with the routines of the day and respond to staff's cues for transition times. For example, staff use traffic light colour cards that indicate when play times are over and visual pictures that show what is happening next. Children with SEND quickly stop along with other children and listen to instructions.

Children have extremely positive attitudes and engagement to their learning. They show resilience, such as trying different ways to crack ice to reach the flowers inside. Children talk excitedly about the teachers who come in to teach them Spanish. They show excitement when chatting about it with other children and staff. Parents and carers comment on the support staff provide to ensure children feel happy and settled, which promotes regular attendance. Staff monitor children's attendance and work with parents to ensure children join them on the days they are expected.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Staff support children to develop healthy habits for life. Children take part in regular physical play inside and outside, and enjoy being active. For instance, children build strength and balance during yoga sessions and learn what happens to their bodies during dance activities.

Staff teach children which foods are healthy, and which they should have less often and why. Children benefit from the nutritional snacks and lunches provided by the nursery. They are excited to see what meals they will have at nursery that day and eat a variety of foods. Parents comment on the improvement in the variety and types of foods eaten by their children since starting at the nursery. Staff work closely with parents and carers and professionals to manage dietary and allergy requirements. This helps to keep children safe and provide an inclusive environment. Staff use mealtimes to develop children's healthy habits and help them to build some independence skills, such as using cutlery and pouring drinks. However, at times, children have to wait for periods of time for food to be served. This means children do not fully extend their ability to do things for themselves beyond what they can already do. Although children develop age-appropriate independence and physical skills at these times, including children with barriers to learning, it does not set as high expectations.

Children and staff form secure relationships and partnerships with parents and carers. This promotes children's self-esteem and confidence. For example, staff and parents adapt routines and work together. This helps babies to come into the nursery and leave their parents happily and remain settled through the day. Children benefit from this flexible and partnership approach, that makes them feel secure and able to focus on their learning.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders are focused on providing the best possible care for children and their families, including those children who face barriers to learning. They work with parents and carers and staff to evaluate the effectiveness of their provision. Leaders constantly monitor what children are enjoying to identify areas for improvement. Leaders and staff continually reflect on what is working well and what can be improved. For example, they have enhanced the induction process of new staff to provide a robust and effective induction. This helps new staff to quickly develop their understanding and skills. Leaders have made extensions to the outside areas. This has resulted in swifter physical development for children and improvement to their understanding of how to move safely around others. Although mealtimes require further development, leaders have already identified this area and started to make impactful improvements.

Leaders have created a highly positive working environment for staff where professional discussion is encouraged. For example, staff observe each other regularly and share ideas about how they could approach children's learning in different ways to learn from each other. Staff are highly motivated to build their knowledge and skills and feel leaders value their contributions and ideas. Training is highly focused on the continuous improvement of staff and meeting the individual needs of children. Leaders make effective use of meetings for staff. For instance, they share resources and knowledge from training. This promotes the consistency of knowledge and practice of all staff and supports the workload of staff as they do not need to attend additional training. Leaders work extremely closely with parents and embed themselves in the local community. They join local events, such as school fairs, and work hard to be visible and approachable to all.