Little Jo's Day Nursery and Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Babies are quick to develop a close bond with their key person and this helps them to settle quickly. They seek the comfort of familiar arms when seeing a new face, but they quickly relax once they know they are safe. Babies smile and babble in response to staff, who copy their sounds and use facial expressions to communicate with them. The babies gently move their bodies in time to the music and familiar songs that staff sing for them. They are encouraged to explore making different sounds. They tap drums with wooden spoons, shake rattles and tap wooden blocks together.

Older children are confident communicators and do not hesitate to ask questions. After asking staff why the inspector is in their nursery, they approach her and ask for her name. When asked if they wish to check her identification badge, they take their time to check the photo and say 'yes, it's you'. Children love books and listening to their favourite stories. Through some of these stories, children learn ways to keep themselves safe. For example, they listen to a story that teaches them that their bodies are private. In role play, children use mathematical language and write for a purpose. For example, one child writes a shopping list and another calculates the cost.

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

• The management team and staff have made a special effort and show a genuine commitment to improving their standards since the last inspection. There has been a highly focused programme of training for all staff. This includes safeguarding, child protection, the 'Prevent' duty, the curriculum and how to plan for it. This has had a genuine impact on the quality of care and education, which has markedly improved.
• A further area of improvement was the learning environment, which has been reassessed. As a result, the indoor and outdoor areas have been reorganised and decluttered. Children now have the use of an exceptionally well-planned environment that they find interesting and highly stimulating.
• Children thoroughly enjoy the freedom of transporting resources and equipment into other areas. This enables them to follow through with their own ideas and interests. For example, children construct a rocket and discuss space and planets. Their conversation turns to volcanoes and they question whether the lava would sink or float. Children take their curiosity into another area. They add colouring to water and liquid to make bubbles. They show real concentration as they experiment with different items, finding out what will sink and what will float.
• The management team describes the curriculum with confidence. It explains that the priority for children is to promote their communication and language skills and social development. This is because they have found that some children missed out on opportunities to develop their social skills, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The ethos of the setting is to use 'in the moment planning', which they describe as enabling children to follow their interests and ideas. Staff give children the space and time to make their own decisions about what they want to do. Staff are organised well and time their interventions effectively. They use their teaching skills to support children in what they choose to do. As a result, children are active and motivated learners who make good progress.
• A lot of preparation goes into helping children be ready for school. Staff speak with them about their new routine and what school will be like. Teachers from the majority of the schools children are to attend visit them in nursery. They show children the school uniforms and introduce themselves. The teachers who are unable to visit are provided with all the information they need about the children joining them. This helps them to be prepared for when children start.
• Children are well motivated by staff, most of whom are very skilled at asking questions and giving children time to think things through. This helps children to develop the skills and confidence they need to solve future problems.
• Parents comment that the 'amazing outdoor provision' is one of the reasons they chose this nursery. They also say that 'the handover from the key person is great and staff are amazing'.
• Children's behaviour is good and they understand that there are rules and boundaries in place. Children who struggle with this do the best they can, with sensitive support from staff. However, there are times when children are not reminded about the rules of working in a group. This means that some children do not always have the chance to fully participate because others answer for them.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider the different abilities when planning group activities so that all the children in the group are able to fully participate.