Little Gems Nursery (Upper Clapton Road)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and excited to begin their day, running up the ramp, waving and saying 'good morning' to visitors and staff waiting. Children separate easily from their parents and carers. They form strong attachments with their key person and other staff and even the youngest babies settle quickly with a reassuring cuddle.

Children independently hang up their coats and bags and then pick their name to add to the self-registration board. They eagerly join an invitingly set up play experience as part of the nursery's ambitious and broad curriculum. Children excitedly talk about what they have been doing since last at nursery.

Staff are positive role models for children; they support them to understand the importance of being a kind friend and taking turns and sharing. Children develop strong friendships with their peers, and they play cooperatively together. In the garden, they work together in the mud kitchen to create 'special soups'. Staff provide children with lots of praise and encouragement, giving them the tools to persevere when they initially find tasks tricky.

The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is excellent. Staff work closely with the local authority and parents to make timely referrals and ensure the right support is in place for all children.

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

• Staff at the nursery know their children well. Starting points of children are accurately recorded and precise tracking of their development allows staff to understand and plan for what it is children need to learn next.
• The curriculum for communication and language is a strength of the nursery. They continuously look at and work with other agencies to consider how they can provide an inclusive environment for all children. Staff speak clearly to children, using simple language and repetition. They introduce new language during activities that helps children expand their already wide vocabularies. For children with SEND and those who speak English as an additional language, they have visual routines and choice boards available to give children another method of communication.
• Staff enthusiastically follow the interests of children. A flower shop in the role-play area extends children's interest in planting and growing. Children excitedly take turns to pick out flowers, discussing their shape and colours. They wrap them in paper, demonstrated by staff, and pay at the till. They discuss the different coins they have, looking at numbers and beginning to make simple additions to support their mathematical development as well as imaginative play.
• There are occasions when children may be overexcited and run around in the hall or climb. Staff are quick to remind them this is not what is expected. They repeat to children that they need to use their 'walking feet'. However, staff do not expand and help children learn to risk assess independently by providing an explanation as to why this is not appropriate. For example, describing they may trip and fall.
• Staff provide children with a wealth of opportunities that helps them learn about the world around them. Every week children visit a senior care home to play games and do various activities alongside the elderly, building intergenerational relationships. Children grow a wide variety of fruit, vegetables and herbs within the nursery garden. They take care of them and proudly help to pick ripe redcurrants and raspberries for their morning snack. Staff take children out for walks to local green spaces to enhance their understanding of their local community.
• Before lunch, older children gather together to read and take part in an interactive discussion around the book 'Handa's Surprise', building on their knowledge of healthy eating. However, due to the noise level in the hall from other children taking part in other routines of the day, children become distracted and lose focus in what is happening. They do not fully benefit from the well-thought-out intention of the session.
• Partnership with parents is good. Parents comment on the caring relationships that staff develop with children that helps them feel settled, secure and eager to learn. Parents feel well kept up to date with what their children are learning and how they support this further at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• promote children's understanding further of why certain processes are in place to keep themselves and others safe
• consider how background noise can be minimised, especially during the pre-lunch carpet session, to ensure children can focus and concentrate on their learning.