Little Haven Nursery School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff have very high expectations for all children to have a clear understanding of the rules and boundaries. Staff skilfully implement this in different ways. This includes role modelling positive behaviour, preparing children for what will happen now and next, and talking gently to them when they need emotional support. Additionally, staff make the daily routines, such as tidy up time, exciting and enjoyable. Consequently, all children join in with enthusiasm and tidy away their toys. Staff give children appropriate praise, which builds on their understanding of how they are expected to behave.

Children receive excellent support to learn how to manage tasks for themselves. Staff have expertly embedded the daily routines so that they are seamless and children know what they are expected to do. For example, when children arrive, they hang their belongings up, register themselves and change their shoes. Children mostly complete these routines on their own, and staff know when to step in to offer appropriate support when it is needed. This helps children to become independent and learn to do things for themselves.

Children benefit from opportunities to develop their language skills. For example, staff animatedly read stories to children in small groups. Children listen with fascination and interest. They readily share their thoughts and ideas when staff prompt them to. Staff use these opportunities to build on children's understanding of emotions by encouraging them to talk about the feelings of the characters. Children readily join in by describing how they think the characters feel, which helps them to develop their vocabulary.

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

• Leaders and staff are well-established in their roles and have formed a strong, supportive team. They work collaboratively to discuss the children and decide what they want them to learn during their time at nursery. This enables staff to effectively plan for children's continued learning.
• Leaders ensure that they provide staff with support in their roles. They communicate effectively with staff through daily chats and frequent meetings. Leaders regularly monitor staff practice. They observe staff during activities and have discussions with them to share teaching strengths and how to further extend children's learning. Staff share their specialist knowledge with each other. This helps to enhance the quality of the support they provide for children.
• Staff have good knowledge of all of the children. They recognise when children are not making their expected progress. They work with parents and other agencies by ensuring that appropriate information is shared, such as strategies to build on children's learning. This helps to ensure that children are supported well in their development.
• Staff arrange the learning environment to spark children's interests. From the moment children arrive, they show deep engagement as they explore their surroundings, such as spending time making 'food' with their friends. Children are friendly and kind to each other as they talk about what they have made. Staff are prompt to step in when children need some guidance to share the resources, and they respond well to these interactions from staff. This helps children to become independent learners.
• Teaching is good. Staff interact well with children and support them to extend their knowledge. For instance, when children count objects incorrectly, staff encourage them to try again. Children show a sense of pride when they count the correct number. Additionally, staff support children to think about how to change the number in a group of objects. They give children time to work this out for themselves, which helps them to learn to problem-solve independently.
• Staff support children to learn about risks around them. For instance, they remind them to be careful during activities, and talk to children about how they might get hurt. Children listen to staff and respond positively. However, leaders have not considered how to support children to learn how to keep themselves safe when they use online devices. This does not fully support them to develop an awareness of personal safety.
• Leaders and staff have developed strong parent partnerships and they encourage the sharing of appropriate information. Parents report that communication is strong. Leaders and staff keep them informed of their child's progress and give them ideas to continue their learning at home. Parents comment that leaders and staff focus on teaching children the skills they need to help prepare them for starting school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide children with better opportunities to learn how to keep themselves safe from everyday hazards, including those related to internet safety.