Little Minds Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff sensitively support babies' and children's emotional and physical well-being. They build strong bonds with children. They closely follow children's dietary requirements and ensure children get the rest they need. Parents are very positive about the level of care and kindness that staff provide to the children. There is a calm atmosphere across the nursery. Children are taught respect for others. They listen to staff and adapt their behaviour, learning to play safely. Babies learn to share toys. Two-year-olds take turns in matching games and persevere with completing puzzles. Older children show good skills, working out and solving issues between themselves, negotiating and showing that they appreciate others' needs.

The nursery's ethos is to motivate, inspire and challenge children to achieve. Staff put the children at the centre of their curriculum, focusing on their learning needs closely. Children make good progress. Staff speak clearly with babies, offering them signs and words to copy and building their understanding very effectively. Babies show good attention skills during their little-circle time, enjoying songs and learning the corresponding actions. Two-year-olds enjoy listening to stories and skilfully start to learn the initial sounds to their names, knowledgeably recognising their associated rhyming picture. Pre-school children are given time to think, remember and form their responses during conversations with staff and in group sessions. Younger pre-school children confidently discuss slug eggs they found during their forest school session and say they are 'going to change into baby slugs'.

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

• Key persons observe children and carefully outline next steps in their development. They work closely with management and parents to help children get any additional support they may need and close gaps in children's learning. Parents say staff share plenty of information with them and usefully incorporate things children do at home into their nursery learning.
• There has been a seamless transition through the change in ownership of the nursery. Many of the staff and management are the same and they have ensured consistency for parents, staff and children. The management continue to review and enhance the provision and practice, working closely with their staff team and gaining the views of parents. Further opportunities, such as music and dance sessions, have been a popular addition to the new nursery.
• Babies relish the confidence-building opportunities they have to develop their independence, learning to use their cutlery at mealtimes and helping put away toys. Pre-school children pour their own drinks at snack time and are supported to scrape their plates after lunch. However, at other times, pre-school children are not consistently encouraged to persevere to do things for themselves, such as getting changed after their forest school session. Additionally, two-year-olds do not have as many chances to develop their independence skills.
• Children have lots of opportunities to be active in the fresh air and develop their physical skills. Babies enjoy exploring the nursery's outdoor area, where they carefully and confidently negotiate the little 'hill'. Two-year-olds giggle and have fun as they undertake their 'daily mile' in the park. They run with staff and conscientiously do their warm-up and cool-down exercises. Pre-school children relish their forest school sessions. They explore confidently and understand to take care on the uneven surfaces and riskier terrain.
• Staff motivate children to develop their dexterity and coordination. Babies have fun as they make boot prints with paint in the garden and work hard to mix ingredients to make bread. Two-year-olds make marks with chalks on paving at the park and print using interesting items, making paint footprints with winter toy animals. Older children beneficially make marks for a purpose as they proudly form letters of their name on the 'helper of the day' sign. However, at times, staff working in the main room do not adapt activities and routines to ensure children's continued engagement and learning.
• Staff develop children's sense of community and their knowledge of the world. They take children on walks and to visit the neighbouring farm, learning about nature and the environment. Staff have robust procedures to teach pre-school children road safety as they walk to the forest school site. The nursery has close links with the village church. The reverend regularly visits to read stories to the children. Children join in with church events and pre-school children proudly practise their songs for the nativity play.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to consistently support children to build their independence skills and sense of responsibility
• support staff to adapt activities and routines and make the most of learning opportunities, extending children's skills as much as possible.