Little Gems

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a safe and homely environment for children to explore. Children separate from parents with ease and quickly settle into play. They have strong, trusting relationships with staff who get to know them well. The nurturing staff team engage in sensitive, caring interactions with children. This helps children to feel happy and promotes their emotional well-being. Staff teach children about the importance of sharing and turn taking. They model positive behaviour and remind children about good manners. Children behave well and understand what is expected of them at nursery.

The curriculum for physical development is well embedded. Babies demonstrate persistence and good hand-to-eye coordination when feeding themselves with cutlery. They use the soft play equipment to crawl, balance and climb, building strength in their large muscles. Two-year-old children use tools and their hands to manipulate dough into various shapes. Older children skilfully use scissors with confidence. They have good pen control and demonstrate strength in their finger muscles. This well-sequenced curriculum helps to develop the skills children need for the next stage in their learning, such as early writing.

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

• Leaders have a good understanding of the different ways that children learn. They plan a sequenced curriculum which builds on children's existing skills. On the whole, staff implement the curriculum well. However, during periods of free play, staff do not always implement the curriculum intentions precisely enough. Consequently, during these times the learning of some children is less well supported.
• Leaders and staff monitor children's development well. The dedicated special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinators use additional screening tools to help identify gaps in children's development. They implement targeted learning plans and make timely referrals to outside agencies. This helps to ensure that children at risk of falling behind receive the support they need swiftly.
• Staff talk and sing to children a lot. They engage in back-and-forth conversations and teach children descriptive words, such as spiky and soft. Older children are articulate communicators who can confidently express their views and opinions. However, staff do not consider the impact of unnecessary dummy use on children's communication and language development. They encourage children to talk and sing with dummies in their mouths which hinders their speaking skills.
• Staff implement good hygiene routines, such as handwashing before meals and after wiping children's noses. Children use the nose wiping station independently and discuss why it is important to clean their hands afterwards. This helps children to develop an understanding of self-care routines and promotes their overall good health.
• Children enjoy taking part in group activities. Younger children sing familiar songs and learn the names of their friends. Older children explore foods they have for lunch in their un-cooked form, for instance potatoes. Children discuss the different meals that can be made and how the foods look different. Staff encourage children to compare size and weight, developing their understanding of mathematical language. Children engage well and are eager to acquire new knowledge and information.
• Parents are happy with the quality of care provided. They feel involved in children's care and receive updates about their development. Staff provide parents with information about children's next steps each month. They offer home-learning activities for parents to extend learning at home. This helps to ensure continuity in children's care and learning.
• Leaders are passionate about supporting the long-standing staff team. Staff receive supervision meetings, performance feedback and access professional development opportunities. However, they do not consistently receive feedback which helps them to strengthen their understanding of the curriculum. For instance, staff do not always focus on helping babies to secure their skills in the prime areas before introducing the specific areas. Consequently, there are some minor weaknesses in the quality of education.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• implement the curriculum intentions more precisely during free play time to help children engage more purposefully
• support staff to develop a greater understanding of how to promote children's speaking skills, with particular regard to the use of dummies
• strengthen the procedures for supervision, coaching and mentoring to provide staff with more specific feedback on their practice.