Little Faces Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive with exceptional confidence and ready to play and learn. They receive lovely greetings from staff, demonstrating their safe and strong relationships. Children ask their friends how they feel today and make excellent links to a colour or picture which matches their mood. Children's emotional well-being is extremely well supported.

All staff wholeheartedly support the expertly planned and sequenced curriculum for physical development. They have high expectations and a firm belief of what children can achieve through excellent physical development opportunities from an early age. Staff know when to teach skills to maximise progress. Children's core strength, large movement and manipulative skills develop exceedingly well.

Children's personal and social skills are developing extremely well. Children are dismayed when they find a torn page in a book, and they immediately seek help to repair it. They decide to use tape and collaborate carefully to place the pages together and expertly manipulate the tape dispenser. They replace the repaired book on the shelf triumphantly. Children demonstrate exceptional care and responsibility for their resources.

In this highly stimulating learning environment, children play purposefully. Staff skilfully allow children to take the lead as they model and promote language which maximises children's learning. For example, as children dress up as astronauts, staff make excellent use of thought-provoking questions to extend play ideas further. Children are inspired, imaginative, inventive and intensely involved. They show superb verbal reasoning as they explain what to take with them on their space adventure. Children are developing highly creative and critical thinking skills to support their future independent learning in school.

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

• Extremely reflective and effective leaders continually improve the quality of care provided for children. Since the previous inspection, they have responded astutely to the COVID-19 pandemic. They swiftly identified gaps in children's learning. Rapid adaptations, including early language screening and support, have helped children catch up quickly. This continual drive to adapt provision in order to do the very best for the children in their care helps them sustain outstanding provision for all children.
• Staff give high priority to enabling children to develop excellent levels of independence and self-care. For example, babies and toddlers feed themselves exceptionally well using a spoon or fork. Older children use knives and forks competently and serve their own meals. At breakfast, they scoop cereal sensibly into a bowl and pour milk accurately. They use tongs to select fruit and they butter toast precisely. All children manage their personal needs splendidly.
• Quality literature features in all areas of learning and inspires children's love of reading. Babies relish textured books, captivated as they listen to an adult read and investigate the sensory experiences. Children in the 'Rising 3's' room are engrossed in a familiar story. Older children enjoy books so much that they read wherever they are comfortable, be it in a tent or on a bike. They have an excellent understanding of how to handle books, and many demonstrate excellent early reading skills.
• The curriculum for literacy is well embedded and taught expertly through play. Children hear and say sounds in words and, for example, learn to spell simple words using jigsaw puzzles. Through an abundance of opportunities to practise, children identify and write their own names neatly. Consistently high-quality teaching, continual assessments of children's development and thorough planning ensure all children are continually learning. This ensures excellent progress.
• Parents and carers are delighted with the quality of education that their children receive. They know that their children have formed safe and secure attachments to key people and are extremely happy. Staff make excellent use of daily electronic communication. Parents comment that communication is 'fantastic'. They know what their children are learning and that they are achieving highly.
• Staff are excellent role models and have high expectations for children's behaviour. Children absolutely live up to their expectations. They understand the nursery's 'Golden Rules' and, with the sensitive, calm and supportive staff, they ably and confidently resolve their own conflicts. Behaviour is exemplary.
• The passionate and dedicated special educational needs and disabilities coordinator (SENDCo) identifies children's specific needs early. Staff work in collaboration with parents and external agencies to plan targeted support. They go above and beyond to ensure all children have full access to the curriculum, for example by adapting spaces and teaching in small groups. Highly consistent approaches to language acquisition help children whose communication skills are delayed to make rapid progress. The personalised targeted provision ensures children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve their potential.