Little Learners

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders and staff have created a warm and inviting atmosphere. They welcome children with an enthusiastic hello and a friendly smile. Children are clearly pleased to see staff as they eagerly run and greet them. They are emotionally secure and happy. Staff teach children about nature and the living world through an enjoyable range of activities. For instance, children enjoy spotting ducks and other wildlife in the nearby canal. They tend to plants in the garden and enjoy nature walks in the local community. Staff help children to appreciate nature and living things, developing their empathy.

Staff help children to understand what is expected of them through simple yet highly effective systems. For instance, staff ring a bell to provide children with cues for changes in routine. Children respond well to this and are helpful and cooperative. Staff use pictorial timetables to illustrate what will happen next. Children know what is expected of them, and this promotes children's good behaviour. Staff offer children a varied and engaging curriculum. They put a lot of thought and time into planning a stimulating environment and plan interesting activities linked to children's interests to motivate children in their learning. This is an organised, stimulating and friendly setting where children thrive.

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

• This is a highly inclusive provision. Children's unique personalities are nurtured by kind and caring staff. The ethos of the setting is to foster children's love of learning and help all children to have the best possible start in their lives. This is achieved through an ambitious and broad curriculum.
• Planning is individualised. Each planned activity focuses closely on children's personal next steps. Children benefit from this targeted teaching and are supported to make good progress.
• Staff value children's views and opinions and weave these into day-to-day activities. For example, children vote for their favourite books, and a 'wow board' publishes and celebrates children's special achievements. Listening to children's views in this way successfully helps to foster children's strong sense of self-worth.
• Staff work well together to promote children's safety. For instance, prior to going outside, staff discuss who is responsible for checking equipment and who will focus on supervision. This delegation of tasks helps to ensure that everything runs smoothly, and children remain safe and secure.
• The quality of teaching to support children's emerging language skills is a notable strength. Staff offer ongoing narration and ask wonderful open questions, prompting children to think and respond. Children engage in two-way conversation and confidently contribute to group discussions. Staff use story time to enhance children's awareness of sentence structure. Children become confident communicators.
• Children are encouraged to take books home from a well-stocked lending library. This helps to promote children's continued learning at home and promotes partnerships with parents.
• Staff are attentive to children's personal care needs. They observe excellent hygiene procedures when changing nappies, such as wearing gloves and sterilising changing mats to minimise any cross-contamination of germs. This upholds children's good health. However, the space is not organised in the best way to fully promote children's privacy. While consideration has been given to the position of nappy changing facilities, these do not provide children with the utmost privacy during personal care routines.
• The staff at this setting have a wonderful reputation within the local community for providing care and support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They work with some professionals that are involved in children's learning. However, these partnerships are not consistent or securely embedded. For instance, staff have fostered good relationships with health visitors but have not developed strong links with speech and language therapists who support some children. This means that they are not benefiting fully from the expertise available to help children make the best possible progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to offer children more privacy during personal care routines, such as nappy changing procedures, to better support children's dignity
• strengthen links with other professionals involved in children's care, such as speech and language therapists, to benefit from their expertise and help children make even more progress in their learning.