Little Footprints Nursery Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are provided with daily opportunities to be physically active in the nursery garden in all weathers. Staff support children's increasing independence. They help and encourage toddlers to learn how to put on their coats, hats and boots. Staff support babies and toddlers to ride bicycles with pedals, and steer and move sit-on toys. They show children how to control the bicycles, so that they can avoid obstacles. Staff play alongside children, sharing bicycles with them. Lots of laughter can be heard as they play together and race each other.

Children are learning how to stay safe. Staff talk to them about the need to walk carefully on the frosty ground, as it will be slippery. Children explore the frost using toys and their fingers to make marks in it. Children comment about how cold the frost feels on their fingers. At circle time, pre-school children talk about the change in season and the weather. They excitedly talk about the snow that fell earlier in the week. Staff give children gentle reminders that they need to listen as others talk. When the children become over excited, the staff count backwards from five to give the children time to calm and refocus.

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

• Staff comment that they enjoy working at the nursery. They have regular staff meetings and training opportunities. The manager regularly observes staff practice. However, the feedback given to staff does not always focus precisely on increasing and improving their individual knowledge and teaching practice.
• The manager and staff have a clear curriculum intention, which focuses on supporting children to gain school readiness skills, such as being confident communicators, independent and sociable. However, not all staff are aware of how the curriculum is planned and sequenced to build on what children already know and can do.
• Staff effectively support children to learn about the traditions, cultures, and festivals that others within their community celebrate. They encourage children to be aware of, and proud about, what makes them unique and individual. Children behave well. Pre-school children have good friendships with each other and show each other respect and kindness. When one child notices that their friend has lost their shoe, they set about helping them to find it. They then help their friend to put their shoe on, making sure that they are putting their shoes on the right feet.
• Staff support children to count, recognise numbers and use mathematical language as they play. Pre-school children count confidently up to 20 as they point to numbers written on a measuring stick. Staff skilfully weave mathematical concepts into conversation as children play, talking to them about the size, weight, and shape of toys.
• Staff recognise the importance of children developing good communication skills. They talk clearly to children and model language for them to copy. Children of all ages develop a love of books. Babies look at picture books with staff. Pre-school children and toddlers sit and listen as staff read stories to them. Staff encourage children to talk about the pictures and to guess what happens next in the story. Children confidently share their ideas.
• Staff promptly recognise the signs that children may need additional help or support. They work alongside parents and other professionals to implement targeted support, where gaps in children's learning and development are identified. Parents comment about the progress that children have made with their communication and language development, due to the close partnership working between the staff and the speech and language therapy team.
• Parents say that their children are very happy and settled at the nursery. They praise the staff for knowing their children well. Parents comment that they are very well informed about the time their child spends at the nursery and how their child is developing. Information is shared with parents about their child's development. Staff encourage parents to extend their children's learning by giving them ideas about the types of activities they can do at home with their children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance arrangements for the monitoring and supervision of staff, to provide staff with precise feedback and targets that will help them develop their childcare knowledge and teaching practice
• deepen staff's understanding around providing a sequenced curriculum, in order to help children to make the progress they are capable of.