Little Learners Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, confident and settle well in this nurturing, home-from-home nursery. They have strong bonds with staff and demonstrate they feel safe and secure in their care. Children benefit from well-organised play spaces and confidently engage in play with resources of interest. Pre-school children show high levels of curiosity as they add liquids, such as shampoo, into water play. They eagerly mix and stir with a variety of tools and show excitement as bubbles start to form. Staff encourage children to persevere and practise new skills. For example, children show pride in their achievements as they successfully transport water with pipettes. This helps to build on the muscles in their wrists, hands and fingers to help support early writing.

Children show good independence skills for their young age. Toddlers blow their noses, put tissues in the bin and know to wash their hands to prevent the spread of germs. They put on their coats and shoes ready for outdoor play and confidently ask for support if they need it. This helps to supports school readiness.

Staff have high expectations for every child. They work closely with other professionals to ensure early intervention. All children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress.

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

• Staff spend time getting to know children write from the start. They value each child as a unique individual and embed their home languages, cultures and traditions into the setting. This supports a sense of belonging at the nursery. For instance, younger children snuggle up with staff and proudly show them their family photographs. Older children talk about events at home and confidently express their thoughts through their drawings. They show respect to their friends and listen to what they have to say with genuine interest.
• Staff observe children as they play and accurately assess their development. They use this data well to plan for the individual learning needs of their key children. However, at times, some staff working with younger children, do not consistently support and challenge children's developing vocabulary and communication skills to the highest level.
• Children benefit from fresh air and exercise throughout the day. Babies confidently climb on see-saws and build on their core muscles as they move backwards and forwards. Older children delight in jumping in puddles. They build on their stamina as they enthusiastically dig and make volcanoes in the sand. Those children that need some quiet time confidently engage in activities with staff under cosy, covered play spaces.
• The manager values the views of parents and acts on these when making improvements to the nursery. Parents speak positively about the staff team and say they are happy with their children's development. Overall, communication with parents is strong. Staff share information on children's achievements and progress, such as through daily discussions and digital media. However, they do not provide all parents with precise information on their children's next steps to help fully support children's learning at home.
• Staff support children's mathematical skills well. For example, toddlers delight in painting activities and show a growing understanding of shape and colour. Pre-school children use language, such as 'full' and 'empty' during water play. They measure their towers and constructions and discuss differences in size.
• The dedicated and passionate manager places a high priority on the well-being of staff. She has a clear vision and sharp focus on continually evolving the nursery. For example, recent training has improved staff knowledge and skills in how to manage children's behaviour. Staff comment they feel valued, listened to and enjoy working at the nursery.
• All children across the setting behave well. For instance, babies and younger children learn to share and patiently wait their turn when taking part in activities. Children in the pre-school room negotiate and listen to the ideas of their friends. When small disputes occur, staff sensitively intervene and help children think about the feelings of others. This helps children learn to manage and regulate their emotions.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to consistently build on the vocabulary and communication skills of younger children, to help extend children's learning even further
• enhance the already good partnerships with parents, so that all parents have information about their child's next steps and how they can further support their child's learning at home.