Little Learners Nurseries

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their time at nursery and demonstrate a positive attitude towards their play and learning. Warm relationships are evident between staff, children and parents. Children are learning the skills they need in readiness for their move to school. They make friends and talk to one another to share experiences together. They follow simple rules, behave well and are considerate towards each other. This contributes to a calm environment. They benefit from praise and encouragement from staff, which support their confidence and self-esteem.

Children enjoy being physically active in the fresh air during outings in the local community. They explore the local area during their daily walks and enjoy more physical play when they visit the school playground. Indoors, they learn to use tools, such as spades and rakes, to dig and rake the sand. Children develop their hand-to-eye coordination skills as they carefully scoop flour into containers and mix with a range of ingredients that they measure. Early mathematics is well planned and is designed to engage the interests of the children. Staff skilfully introduce vocabulary associated with the children's play, as the children pour the mixture and measure the ingredients. Additionally, children begin to develop their understanding of number through stories and number rhymes, which they thoroughly enjoy.

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

• The manager and staff have successfully created a welcoming environment for the children. They work effectively as a team. Staff complete training and this supports them to continue to broaden their knowledge and skills. The manager provides staff with ongoing support and supervision, to ensure they understand their roles and responsibilities while working with children. Staff welcome supervision meetings and say that their well-being is supported well by the manager and provider.
• Staff support children to develop their communication and language skills. They encourage them to use their developing language to talk about what they are doing. The learning environment supports children to develop enthusiasm for reading. Books are selected based on children's interests, and staff read regularly to the children. Staff engage children actively in reading and through conversations during role play.
• Staff know the children well. They demonstrate a caring approach to the children in their care, which successfully supports their emotional well-being. The manager and staff structure the curriculum to build on what the children know and can already do. However, on some occasions, group activities are not sharply focused on each child's individual needs and, at times, some children sit outside of the activity with less adult interaction.
• Staff plan and risk assess daily outings carefully. The children know the routine and quickly get ready to go out. They behave very well, hold hands and follow staff directions. Children enjoy the regular time spent outdoors, including visits to the local school playground. Children thoroughly enjoy exploring the local community. They discuss habitats and notice changes in the environment. They observe the birds that live on the canal and point to the aeroplanes up in the sky. Open-ended and natural resources are available inside the setting to extend this learning for children.
• Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities effectively. The manager and staff know how to refer a child for further assessment. The manager acts on advice given from multi-agencies to support children fully. She ensures relevant documentation is up to date. The environment is very well organised. Staff use policies and procedures to support them in their role and so that children are safe at this setting.
• Parents comment very positively about their child's experiences during their time in the nursery. They state that they are regularly updated about their child's development and that they enjoy receiving reports of their child participating in the activities and how they are developing. However, not all parents are completely sure who their child's key person in the team is. That said, parents are complimentary and comment on the support and flexibility they receive.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen opportunities to support staff to encourage all children to participate in activities, especially those quieter children who may need more encouragement
• continue to improve the existing good systems for communication, to further enhance effective information sharing with all parents.