Little Monkeys Charlbury

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily at the setting and are greeted by warm and friendly staff at the door, who then take them to their classes. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents do not currently enter the building. However, children enter confidently, demonstrating that they feel safe. They have a range of activities to explore, both inside and outdoors. Well-planned and maintained spaces provide a range of play experiences, including a large purpose-built mud kitchen, where children cooperatively work to pump water to buckets. Children show excitement as they play and enjoy riding on bikes and toys. These are all marked in numbered bays, which helps to reinforce early mathematical knowledge as they make the connections in numbers.

Children can use the nursery library, choosing books to take home to share with parents. This emphasises the importance of early readers and giving access to books. The setting has a core book list of 12 titles that they focus on. Children can access these books throughout the day and via the library. The impact of this can be witnessed in the garden, where they take part in a 'Gruffalo' hunt. Children happily dance to music with actions. They recite songs from memory and demonstrate confidence while moving to music. Children explore oral health through role-play experiences. They play with real toothbrushes and large teeth models, and can dress up in doctors' coats. The children also experience play with real-life objects, such as teacups and crockery.

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

• Children behave very well. Relationships with staff are strong, warm and supportive. This is demonstrated by confident, happy children playing alongside their peers.
• The staff comment that they feel well supported by a confident management team. They reflect on how the setting feels more like a family. For example, care and understanding around personal health appointments are recognised. Staff benefit from regular supervision meetings and are starting to introduce peer-on-peer observations to support their work as a team.
• The manager demonstrates a strong commitment to providing an ambitious curriculum. She has a clear vision for the future of the nursery. The manager and staff ensure all areas of learning are planned for to help support children's progress and develop skills needed to support their future development.
• Overall, staff are good role models. For example, they are caring and friendly to children when helping them settle into the daily routine. However, at times, staff do not share the curriculum intent set by the manager that fully supports the development of communication and language. For example, time is often spent on routine chores rather than sat talking with children.
• The views of parents are positive. They state that they are kept fully aware of the setting's events and activities via the online parent portal. Parents state that they feel regularly updated about nursery events. They share artwork and photographs with the staff team.
• Management and staff make good use of additional funding to support children's development. They focus on children's individual learning outcomes and what will best help narrow gaps in their learning. For example, funding enables children to access forest school trips, and assists in the purchase of resources that support them to regulate their feelings and emotions.
• Staff teach children good hygiene routines. For example, the purchase of freestanding handwashing basins means children can easily wash their hands in the rooms. In light of COVID-19, these routine practices encourage children to learn how to keep themselves safe from germs and cross-infection.
• Management and staff provide a well-considered and stimulating outside play space. Children have fun taking part in a floating and sinking activity, showing curiosity about what will happen next. However, at times, the staff do not further children's curiosity by extending play provision or allowing them enough time to respond to questions.
• The manager has a development plan for the setting and shares this with the team at regular team meetings. She offers regular supervision which helps her to reflect on staff practice. This in turn helps her and staff to reflect on their practice and to identify further training needs.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• create a curriculum that has clear intentions for what children need to learn and support staff to deliver this effectively through their teaching
• give children more time to respond to questions and use their problem-solving skills.