Little Learners Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children benefit from the warm, safe and incredibly inclusive environment where their well-being is at the centre. Children flourish because of the highly effective key-person system and close and nurturing relationships they have with all staff. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are supported tremendously well. Those with responsibility for children with SEND provide home visits and work closely with parents to ensure children's overall needs are continuously met.

Weekly visits to forest school bolsters the superb outdoor learning facilities that children have continuous access to. Staff scrupulously plan activities and organise the learning environment, indoors and outdoors, to captivate children's interests, build on their learning and consolidate their understanding.

Skilful staff introduce children to a broad and varied curriculum. While feeding the nursery guinea pig, children develop empathy, responsibility and patience, as staff encourage children to think beyond their own feelings and consider the needs of their pets. Scientific play is introduced as staff encourage children to explore different types of grass under the microscope. Children learn from staff that giving too much spring grass can give the guinea pig a stomach upset. Children are learning important social skills, such as accepting the needs of others, when staff praise them for taking turns with the microscope.

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

• The management team and staff have developed an ambitious curriculum for all children. Teaching is well sequenced and broken down into key learning steps. This ensures activities link to what children have learned previously. Assessments are robust and staff work closely with parents and outside professionals, such as speech and language therapists, to help bridge gaps in their learning. As a result, all children, including those with SEND make significant ongoing progress in all areas of their learning and development and are well prepared for starting school.
• Echoes of children's laughter and fulfilment are heard throughout the nursery. Staff's enthusiasm for supporting children's learning through play and their quality interactions significantly enhance children's attention, awe and wonder. As children enjoy water play, filling measuring cups until they overflow, staff gasp with amazement and ask what is happening. Children giggle with delight and tell staff, 'Look it's an exploding volcano'.
• Children are well behaved and understand the need to use sand timers to share or wait their turn for a popular toy. This is because staff consistently promote high and clear expectations of behaviour for all.
• Teaching is consistently outstanding. Staff teach in incredibly fun and innovative ways, which means children become highly motivated and independent learners. For example, staff create an imaginative game they call 'superhero training'. Pretending to be superheroes, children excitedly get into character and begin investigating the outdoor environments. Staff point to areas of interest such as the wet slide. They use thought-provoking questions to develop children's thinking skills and teach them how using their senses can help keep themselves safe. When touching the wet slide, children learn this could make it more slippery and increase slips or falls.
• Staff promote excellent hygiene routines. Staff embed consistent routines such as encouraging children to wash hands before eating and after touching the nursery pets. Staff adapt routines to ensure children with SEND are provided with the individual support they need, to become increasingly independent in carrying out important hygiene routines.
• Children benefit from many extra-curricular activities such as visits from local artists, fire station and the police. These real-life experiences help children to practice their social communication skills when asking questions and communicating with new people. As a result, children are becoming extremely confident and capable communicators.
• Parents are overwhelmingly complimentary about the support network that is provided to their children and families. Parents feel integral to their child's early education, especially through shared daily communication and regular, in-depth updates of their progress.
• The management team continually evaluate the quality of the nursery and are ambitious in their future enhancements such as the 'community garden' project. Staff say they love their job. They receive high-quality training and exceptional ongoing support from the dedicated management team.