Little Learners Community Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy, excited and eager to start their day. Friendly staff greet them warmly as they enter. Children say goodbye to their parents quickly and look for their name card for self-registration enthusiastically. They run towards staff, who cuddle them and ask how they are. Staff form strong bonds with children and this helps children to feel safe and secure. Staff develop close relationships with parents from the moment their children begin settling in and work in partnership with them. Staff gather information about children from parents and use this information to plan activities that meet children's individual interests and needs.

Children develop their independence. For example, younger children take off coats and hang them on a peg. Older children pour water into an open cup, sit at the designated table to drink, and tidy the cup away. Children confidently make choices about what they want to play and how to do things to lead their own play. They are willing to share ideas with others and listen to their responses attentively. Staff act as excellent role models, as they treat others with respect and kindness. As a result, children behave very well. They learn to share as they make sure that their friends also have enough resources to participate in the same activity.

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

• Staff comment positively about the support they receive from the manager. The manager completes ongoing staff supervisions. She holds regular meetings with staff to discuss their well-being, responsibilities and professional development. Staff access a variety of training to keep their knowledge up to date. The manager and staff are reflective and work well as a team to identify what they could improve for children.
• Staff plan a curriculum that is rich in cultural capital. Children are provided with plentiful of opportunities to go out into the local community, where they are exposed to new environments and meaningful experiences. They go on regular trips to visit the local shop, post office and library. Children politely greet the librarians, carefully choose a book to read and share the public space with local children of a similar age. This helps to raise children's awareness of the diversity of the local community and the wider world around them.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive good support. Staff have established links with external professionals to ensure that children gain the relevant support and intervention they need. Staff, parents and professionals work collaboratively to ensure that strategies and support for children are in place. Staff use additional funding well to provide specific support that meets the needs of individual children. For example, staff recently attended training to enhance children's speech, language and communication skills. As a result, children make good progress.
• Staff support children to learn healthy lifestyles. They discuss what foods help them to be healthy and how to look after their own teeth. Recently children visited the local dentist and they relished learning about oral health. Children have regular, planned opportunities to be outdoors in the fresh air. They also engage in some physical activities, such as throwing a ball into hula-hoops and balancing on stepping stones. However, children do not always have the opportunity to challenge their physical capabilities.
• Parents speak highly about the nursery. Parents say their children love coming to nursery and make good progress in their development. A parent described staff creating a 'home-from-home environment' for children, where they feel happy. Staff regularly share information about children's progress. They advise parents to support their children's learning at home continuously.
• Overall, children benefit from a well-planned, sequenced curriculum. Staff know what children can do and need to do next. For example, children take part in a group activity making fruit kebabs and learn about healthy foods. They are learning how to count based on the fruits in the book 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'. They willingly put pieces of fruits on a skewer as they count. However, at times, staff do not recognise when they need to differentiate activities to suit the different ages and stages of children, especially for older children. Consequently, at times, some children do not receive a high-quality learning experience.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review and adapt the curriculum to create more opportunities to maximise and challenge children's physical development
• build on staff's current knowledge of differentiating planned group activities to meet the individual developmental needs of children, especially for the older and more able children.