Little Explorers Nursery, Stoke Golding

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle quickly and feel secure in this warm, friendly and caring environment. Staff form positive bonds with children. They provide younger children with plenty of cuddles and a knee to sit on when they seek reassurance. Children concentrate well in group activities. Two-year-old children thoroughly enjoy making play dough, exploring the ingredients and mixing everything together. Staff support them extremely well as children learn to use small tools with increasing skill. There is lots of fun and giggles as the children and staff get 'sticky' and 'messy' together. Staff extend the sensory experience by adding herbs and encouraging the children to smell them.

Staff have high expectations for children's learning. Children are encouraged to be independent. They pour their own drinks and use a knife safely to butter their toast. Children learn to explore numbers as staff introduce them to the activities linked to their interests. Children are helped to use a tape measure to see how tall they are. Staff write the number down and tell them what it is. Outdoors, children show curiosity at the patterns left behind in the sand by large, toy building vehicles, correctly counting each line. As a result, children learn new mathematical skills and gain confidence.

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

• Managers are knowledgeable and experienced in childcare. They are extremely passionate about early years and the children in their care. Managers have a clear vision for the future of the nursery and identify areas for further development, as well as from feedback from parents, children and staff. They recently introduced stay-and-play sessions for parents to help them to see how children spend their day.
• Following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, managers identified that children's communication development is a key area of focus. Staff take every opportunity to introduce new and challenging vocabulary. For example, at lunchtime, younger children are introduced to words such as 'delicious', using this when they taste their food. Toddlers excitedly join in with action songs. They stand up and hop like little bunnies. Children sit in cosy areas looking at books independently. Staff read stories to children enthusiastically and with plenty of expression, helping children to develop a love of books.
• Children's development is assessed by staff when they begin at the nursery. Staff collect detailed information from parents, which helps to plan for children's learning. They use observations of children's play to help identify any gaps in children's development. This is followed by a targeted programme of early intervention work. As a result, children make good progress.
• Parents say they are 'delighted' with the care their children receive. They are particularly happy with the support from staff and the regular feedback provided about their child's day and the progress they are making. Parents like the electronic communication that is used to record their children's learning. They comment that this enables them to view what their child has been doing at their leisure. Parents talk about the delight they feel when they receive a 'wow' moment photo of their child.
• Children are well behaved and have a positive attitude towards their learning. They enjoy a broad range of activities and experiences in an environment that focuses on child-initiated play. Children are confident to join in with activities.
• Children enjoy their time playing outside. However, managers have not developed their curriculum fully to support children to challenge their physical skills and learn how to manage risks in their play.
• Staff say they feel supported, valued and respected by managers. Effective strategies, such as individual meetings, are used to evaluate their workloads and promote well-being. Staff are offered some training opportunities to keep their skills and knowledge up to date. However, managers do not target training for staff to help raise the quality of teaching to the highest level.
• Staff plan appropriate activities for children to help them to learn about a range of festivals. However, children have less opportunities to learn about the similarities and differences that make them, and others from a variety of backgrounds, unique.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the curriculum for outdoor learning to help children to be challenged in their physical skills and take risks in their play
• support staff to develop their practice further to ensure that teaching is of the highest level
• provide more opportunities for children to learn about equality and diversity to prepare them for life in modern Britain.