Little Learners Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Little Learners Childcare is a special place for children to be. Children are eager to attend, and when they arrive, they greet staff enthusiastically at the door. Babies are handled with extreme care as they separate from their parents and are taken upstairs to the baby room. Pre-school children rush in, laughing and calling out, eager to find their friends. Positive relationships and well-being for children and families are at the heart of what this nursery does. This helps children to feel safe and secure.

Staff talk to parents to find out about children and their individual likes and dislikes. They use this information to ensure that the highly effective learning environment is stimulating, engaging and meeting children's individual needs. Children are deeply involved in activities that build on what they already know and can do. This helps them to engage in meaningful play and develop an extensive range of skills and knowledge. For example, children relish being able to explore the new painting wall. They learn how to take a paper print of their artwork and beam with pride when staff peg their work up for everyone to see.

Children display exemplary behaviour. Children of all ages and abilities learn to be respectful of one another and the environment. They learn to share, take turns and follow simple instructions. Staff engage children in making positive choices. They use picture cards and gestures to teach children when to stop, how to change their behaviour and what to do next.

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

• The leadership team shares highly effective relationships with staff. It has a high regard for the professional development and well-being of the staff team. Leaders spend time in each of the nursery rooms, working alongside staff to support their practice and ongoing development even further. Leaders meet with staff to complete 'talent reviews' and well-being checks. Staff are highly reflective, experienced and skilled. They demonstrate a commitment to working collaboratively with each other and the leadership team. This contributes to the positive learning experience that children have.
• All staff develop a clear and ambitious curriculum for children. They use every opportunity to broaden children's experiences. Staff recognise that children need time to explore independently to develop their problem-solving skills. They ask children thoughtful questions and make sure they have adequate time to think and respond. For example, when children paint outside, they exclaim that the wind is blowing their paper. Staff expertly encourage them to find a solution, work together and explore what objects might be heavy enough to hold it down.
• Children benefit from the consistently strong interactions they have with staff.
• They smile with pride when staff encourage and praise them for their attempts to complete tasks. For example, in the home area, children pretend to care for babies, and they use their hand muscles to dress and undress the dolls. Staff skilfully encourage children to persist with tricky arm holes in the clothes as they learn how to poke the doll's arm through. Staff interactions contribute to children becoming resilient, to concentrate and to keep trying until they succeed.
• Staff are highly effective in extending children's communication skills. They speak clearly to children and give them time to understand and practise new vocabulary. For example, children mixing colours learn about 'vibrancy' and that colours can have a different 'hue'. Staff explain what new words mean and give children practical opportunities to explore new concepts. For instance, children compared the 'hue' of their colour to the colour wheel and then discussed which colour was the most 'vibrant'.
• Staff motivate all children to learn, including children who receive additional funding such as pupil premium and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Highly skilled staff attentively identify children who may need additional intervention. They work exceptionally well with outside agencies to ensure there is a collaborative approach to children's learning. Children with SEND make rapid progress from their starting points.
• Parents speak extremely highly of the nursery and the staff. They clearly attribute children's learning to time spent at the setting. They comment that the nursery is a 'lifeline' and the staff always go 'above and beyond' to support their individual needs. They praise leaders for supporting families with food and resources banks and for maintaining consistently high levels of communication with them.