Little Explorers: Rainford

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy coming to nursery. They are greeted by friendly staff and arrive happily. There is an effective key-person system in place which allows staff to build strong bonds with their key children. Staff are extremely responsive to children's needs. As a result, children are independent, friendly and confident. Children follow routines and demonstrate good behaviour.

Staff know the children well and provide opportunities that meet their individual needs. For example, children develop their physical skills as they engage in physical activities. Risk assessments are conducted effectively, which helps to ensure children's safety at all times.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well and make good progress from their initial starting points. Staff work closely with parents and other agencies to ensure that strategies are put in place to support the needs of each child. As a result, children blossom.

Children enjoy lengthy periods of time outdoors in the large spacious play area. They also benefit from outings in the community, which widens their experiences. In particular, they thoroughly enjoy being collected by a tractor to visit the local farm. Children also visit Crawford Park, where they explore the forest environment and make hammocks to relax in.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, parents continue to drop off and collect their children from the door. Staff talk to parents about their children's day and share photos on the nursery app. This provides parents with reassurance and enables them to be aware of what their children are learning.

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

• Leaders are ambitious and strive to provide high-quality care and education for all children. They work alongside staff so that children get the best start and thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery.
• There are some minor gaps in practice. For example, staff do not always understand what the children need to learn and why. Although staff interact with children as they play and explore, they do not always build on what children already know and can do. This does not fully promote children's learning.
• Mathematical concepts have been identified as an area for improvement and these are currently being developed. For example, as children pour water from different-sized vessels, staff seize the opportunity to extend children's mathematical thinking. They talk about the water 'overflowing' and why this might be happening.
• Early years pupil premium funding is used well to meet the individual needs of disadvantaged children. For example, staff have purchased an 'emotions teddy' to help children to talk about their feelings. They have also arranged training sessions to enable staff to further support children's emotional well-being.
• Staff have strong links with feeder schools and work in close partnership with teachers. This helps them to develop a clear vision of what they want children to learn before they go to school.
• Partnership with parents is a strength which runs throughout the nursery. Strong, trusting relationships are developed with parents, who are very complimentary and particularly like the homely feel of the nursery. This supports children's emotional well-being.
• Babies and young children are well cared for and have the attention and support they need. They have developed strong attachments with staff. This helps them to feel safe and secure.
• Children are occupied and stimulated for most of the day, which has a positive impact on their learning. However, group-time activities, such as snack time, are a little disorganised, which disrupts children's learning.
• Children accessing nursery meals are served healthy dishes, such as tomato pasta, which they thoroughly enjoy. However, packed lunches consisting of sweet or chocolate treats are brought in. This does not reflect the nursery's healthy eating ethos.
• Leaders and managers are supportive of staff well-being. Their workload is kept to a minimum, enabling staff to maximise opportunities for interaction with children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance staff knowledge to enable them to support children to build on what they know and can do
• evaluate the impact of transitions during whole-group activities to ensure minimal disruption to learning
• work in partnership with parents to support the nursery's healthy eating ethos.