Little Leaf Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show that they thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery. They arrive with big smiles and settle down quickly to play. Staff are kind and caring towards children. They play and talk with them and are responsive to their needs. Therefore, children feel included, settled and secure. They flock around activities led by staff and chat happily with them about their interests and experiences.

Staff want all children to achieve well. They provide a range of engaging activities, which help to spark children's curiosity and love of learning. Therefore children show positive attitudes and concentrate well on the things that they enjoy. For example, children explore their interest in colours by mixing paints to create various colours and shades. They investigate different ways to apply paint to paper, such as by printing, smearing and dabbing.

Children develop their independence well. For example, babies learn to feed themselves and make choices about their play. Older children confidently hang up their coats on arrival and wash their hands before meals. This helps them to develop high self-esteem. Children are friendly and helpful to others. For instance, older children are keen to assist staff as they clean the tables after a messy activity.

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

• The manager places a strong focus on creating a happy and enthusiastic staff team. Staff say they feel well supported and find training useful, to help build on their professional knowledge and skills. The manager works alongside the staff team and undertakes regular monitoring, to ensure that children receive good-quality learning experiences.
• Children benefit from a broad curriculum, which equips them with a wide range of skills and knowledge. For example, children learn to interact positively with others and use their imaginations during role play. They practise their physical skills and develop mathematical knowledge, as they scoop sand into different-sized containers. Children explore their own ideas and make choices about their play. This helps them to become confident and enthusiastic learners.
• Staff monitor children's progress well and identify where they may need additional support. They work closely with parents and other professionals where needed, to close the gaps in children's learning. Therefore, all children, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress from their starting points.
• Children develop a love of books from an early age. Babies confidently select their favourite books to share with staff or to look at independently. Older children listen intently to favourite stories and join in with excitement and enthusiasm. Children enjoy regular visits to a library bus, which introduces them to a wide variety of texts to support their interests and broaden their knowledge.
• Staff use a range of support strategies, to help children develop their language skills. For instance, they use pictures and props, to help children understand routines, make choices and engage with stories. Staff share ideas for language activities with parents, to help them continue children's learning at home. This helps all children, including children with SEND and those who speak English as an additional language, to become confident communicators.
• Children enjoy being outdoors in the nursery garden. They make the most of the opportunities to exercise and develop their large-muscle movements, such as by climbing and playing ball games. However, staff do not have a clear focus for children's learning outdoors. Therefore, children do not gain as much as they could from their outdoor play.
• Children generally behave well. They are friendly towards others and develop good friendships with their peers. When children occasionally struggle to share or take turns, staff step in to support them and provide reminders about their expectations. However, at times staff do not teach children about their feelings and the consequences of their actions, to help them begin to moderate their behaviour independently.
• Parents describe the manager and staff as caring and supportive. They feel well informed about their children's experiences at nursery. Parents explain how the manager and staff help them to support their children's learning and development at home. Therefore, there is a consistent approach to issues, such as managing children's behaviour and encouraging toilet training.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to further develop the curriculum for outdoor play, so that the teaching and learning experiences consistently focus on what they want children to learn
• help staff to support children's understanding of their feelings and the impact their behaviour has on others.