Little Men And Misses Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide children with a warm welcome in a safe atmosphere. Children self-register by placing their name tag on their coat peg on arrival. They also help themselves to breakfast from a self-service bar with the staff there to help if needed. This helps children to develop independence and a sense of pride in their achievements. Children settle quickly into the nursery routine. They access a range of activities which are set out ready for their play. Children use their imaginations in the outside area as they pretend to lock gates with giant keys.

Children are confident to share experiences and interests from home with the staff. The staff then use this information to create further opportunities for children to share with their friends. For example, following on from children's interests in boats and the sea, staff encourage children to use magnifying glasses to look at giant prawns and mussels. They also talk about 'rescue boats' and children share and take turns in using equipment as they work together to build a boat. For example, when the children needed some sticky tape another child cut some off and handed it to them. Children are confident in their own abilities and help others with tasks.

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

• Children enjoy the outside area, where they can build their boats from sponges, bamboo pieces, and sticks. They also enjoy being in the garden area with messy play or building homes for the dinosaurs. These areas are organised well and although outside they have a cover to protect children from the elements all year round.
• Staff plan activities using children's books for inspiration. They provide fun activities to promote early writing skills, such as drawing with a sponge and peg to leave a trail on the paper. Children talk to staff about what they are doing and what they need to make bugs out of play dough. However, staff do not use this opportunity well enough to promote new vocabulary and enhance children's learning. At times, staff incorrectly name animals, such as dinosaurs, which can be confusing for children who know the correct name.
• Key persons gain knowledge of the children's prior experiences before they start at the setting. They use this information to help plan a curriculum for individual children, which builds on what children already know.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. Staff work together to identify any concerns or delays in children's development as soon as possible. They liaise with and seek guidance from outside agencies, and a designated staff member completes assessments and devises support plans. Staff use these plans to provide opportunities to promote children's learning and development.
• Management follow robust recruitment procedures to ensure new members of staff are suitable. Staff inductions are completed over a period of several weeks. This provides time for staff to familiarise themselves with the nursery's policies and procedures and to develop awareness of their role and responsibilities. Staff feel well supported by the management team and meet regularly with them for supervisions. Managers have identified some personal development and training needs. However, they are not focusing enough on ways to help staff to gain a better understanding of the curriculum and how they can enhance their teaching to raise the quality of provision for children.
• Parents speak highly of the staff and view the nursery as an extension of their families. They find the online application useful in keeping them informed of anything that is happening within the nursery. This was one of the measures that management have put in place to keep in contact with parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also held meetings with parents online to discuss children's development. Since restrictions have been lifted, parents are returning and meetings have gone back to being held face to face. Parents feel supported and are happy with the re-introduction of a 'school readiness' workshop. These provide opportunities for parents to discuss their expectations and for staff to share the nursery's ethos in preparing children for their move on to school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enrich opportunities to encourage children to extend their vocabulary
• help staff to develop a greater understanding of the areas of learning and the ways in which children learn and enhance their teaching accordingly.