Little Gems Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter the setting happy, confident, and ready to learn. Staff place great importance on children's emotional well-being. This is firmly embedded within the setting's culture. Due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, parents and carers are unable to enter the premises. Leaders have adapted routines to meet the emotional needs of individual children. This includes during handover times.

Leaders and staff have ambitious expectations of all children. This includes children with special educational needs, and/or disabilities (SEND). They analyse what children already know and identify what they need to learn next. Staff work in partnerships with parents and carers to create tailored learning plans. Children are making good progress in all areas of the curriculum as a result.

Children's behaviour is well supported. Staff focus on positive behaviour and offer meaningful praise. This helps children develop high levels of self-esteem, as well as positive attitudes towards their learning. For example, they show pride as they attach personal achievements to the 'proud cloud'. Staff role model kindness and respect. They remind children to use 'kind hands' and ask babies permission before engaging in care routines. Children form strong friendships with each other and are respectful as a result.

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

• Leaders recognise the impact COVID-19 has had on children's mental health. They have introduced tools to help children manage their thoughts and feelings. For example, some children choose to place their worries in a basket on arrival. Staff use puppets to explore emotions and behaviour during the day.
• Children are provided with regular opportunities to keep their bodies healthy. They have access to a range of healthy snacks and drinks and make fruit smoothies to share with their friends.
• Children thrive in a language rich environment and develop a love of books and stories from an early age. Skilled staff bring stories to life and capture children's interest for long periods of time. For example, children show delight as staff use different voices during a story about dinosaurs. Children act out the story using the resources provided. This helps strengthen their learning further. Staff introduce new vocabulary and children try out their loudest 'roars'.
• Children develop good levels of physical development. Staff plan fun and imaginative ways to enhance children's physical skills. For example, staff teach children the basic rules of cricket. Children use a hobby horse to bat balls, while the bowler attempts to knock over stacked wooden blocks (wicket). Children benefit from the well-resourced outside area. They run, jump, climb and build assault courses while learning about risk.
• Children with SEND are well supported to access their early education. Leaders use additional funding to enhance children's learning experiences. For example, they buy specialist equipment so that all children have access to equal opportunities.
• Staff plan engaging activities, which capture children's interest and challenge their thinking. However, at times, the learning intent is too ambitious for some children. For example, during a phonics session, not all children are able to link sounds to letters. This means not all children benefit fully from what is being taught.
• Staff benefit from regular supervision. They have opportunities to extend their professional development through training and informal coaching. This has a positive impact on children's outcomes. For example, staff receive Makaton training. Children's communication has improved as a result. Staff feel well supported, valued, and committed to their role.
• Staff provide children with opportunities to explore mathematical concepts. For example, children compare sizes of dinosaurs frozen in ice and use language, such as 'massive' and 'tiny'. Children explore 'more' and 'less', count items of food and discuss shape during lunchtime.
• Overall, parents speak positively about the setting and the progress their children have made. Most report that they receive regular updates on their child's learning. However, there is some inconsistency in the quality of information shared as some parents receive more detailed information than others.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen large group activities to ensure the curriculum intent fully reflects the learning needs of all children
• offer support for staff to provide all parents with the same good quality of information.