Little Mu'mins Day Care Ltd

Inclusion: Needs attention

Staff show varying levels of confidence in adapting the curriculum to meet children's individual needs, including those children who speak English as an additional language. Consequently, the range of activities offered does not consistently support children to make progress appropriate to their stage of development. Some staff lack the skills needed to adapt their practice to help all children learn. This is particularly noticeable for the 2-year-olds and pre-school aged children. Staff spend time watching children as they play with cars or draw pictures and do not offer ideas or suggestions to help support and extend their learning and development.

Leaders and staff show a secure awareness and knowledge of how to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They work closely with parents and external professionals to ensure accurate assessments reflect children's emerging needs. Staff who lead on SEND ensure referrals are completed in a timely manner, working with other agencies and professionals to gather all appropriate information needed. This means children have plans in place ready for their move to the next stage of their education. However, leaders do not understand how any additional funding entitlements, such as early years pupil premium, should be used to support the needs of the children it is intended for. This does not help to remove barriers in learning for children who are disadvantaged.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

Leaders have not yet fully embedded a curriculum into staff's practice and teaching does not always build on what children already know and can do. Staff can talk about the curriculum and of how this should be delivered to reflect the needs of children. However, in practice, some staff are unsure of how to implement this to ensure this is challenging, varied and adapted to the needs of all children. As a result, there are times that children, particularly 2-years-olds and pre-school-age children, wander around from one activity to another and are unsupported in their learning. This leads to inconsistencies in the progress children make.

Occasionally, activities are implemented appropriately and when this does happen it is beneficial and allows children to take part. Sometimes, when staff read to children, they listen and show an interest in this. Older children enjoy listening to a story about 'Grandpas Garden', while younger children listen to 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. Staff offer the babies props to handle as the story is read to them. This helps to support children's developing communication. However, this is not consistent and there are times that language is not used enough, particularly for the 2-year-olds and some children who speak English as an additional language, to build on their speech. When children race cars down tracks, staff mention how this is to support their developing speaking. However, staff introduce very little language and, therefore, the activity does not support these children to develop their vocabulary. This lack of foresight and planning means some children are not making the same progress as their peers. Mathematics is somewhat weaved into children's play. Staff count as children walk up steps and use action rhymes to help them learn about numbers.

Achievement: Needs attention

Children, including those with barriers to their learning, do not make the best progress possible due to inconsistent teaching. For example, older children enjoy looking at various vegetables in the soil, however, staff do not support children to talk about how vegetables grow, which is the intent for the activity. Some children do not make appropriate progress in their speech. This is because staff talk to pre-school children too rapidly and they do not give children enough time to practise what they know. Two- to three-year-old children are not consistently supported by staff to hear a range of language or practise their speaking skills. This means not all children, including those who speak English as an additional language, are making enough progress in their speech.

Babies enjoy positive and secure relationships with key staff. They engage in role play, pretending to eat play foods, as staff help name the foods they play with. Two- to three-year-old children show developing small and large physical development skills as they enjoy moving cars up and down a pretend road and use the small frame easily to climb and slide. Pre-school children show good hand-eye coordination as they scoop mud into tubs and pretend to make 'chocolate cake'. Sometimes, though, children's learning is incidental and not necessarily as a direct result of the teaching they receive while at nursery. As a result, children are not as well prepared as they could be for their future learning.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Due to gaps in the curriculum and teaching, children's attitudes to learning sometimes decline, particularly during planned activities. Staff do not consistently support children to focus their attention on what really matters, which can lead to children losing interest and wandering off from activities. Leaders and staff do have appropriate expectations for children's behaviour. Recent training has allowed them to address previous weaknesses in this area. Staff consider the learning needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well, when managing their behaviour. They make use of 2 sensory rooms and adjust lighting to help soothe and calm children, who struggle with their emotions. This approach helps children to feel safe and secure.

Staff remind children of the 'rules' of the setting. Pre-school-age children talk about using their 'listening ears' and 'indoor feet'. Staff offer reminders to children about boundaries, when necessary, such as not to climb on furniture and explain the reasons why this is not safe. Staff are beginning to support children to understand how to take turns, be kind and play alongside their peers. When digging in the mud, staff praise children for sharing the equipment with each other. This helps children to learn how to behave well.

Leaders work well with families to promote children's regular attendance. Flexible arrangements are in place for some families to support their individual circumstances.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

Safer eating guidance is not consistently followed during mealtimes. Staff can become distracted as they fetch water and cups and cutlery for children. This means there are occasions when children are not monitored appropriately, which has the potential to impact on their safety and welfare. Children are offered a range of healthy meals to support their health and wellbeing. Staff work with parents to ensure that children who bring their own food have balanced and nutritious choices. Children sit at tables to eat meals, supporting a social occasion.

Staff build warm and caring relationships with children. They greet them with genuine affection, which helps children to settle quickly and feel secure. Children arrive confidently and, overall, they engage positively with staff. Staff meet children's individual care needs well. They recognise when babies and children are tired and hungry and support this appropriately. Babies and toddlers sleep in safe spaces and are closely monitored by staff during this time.

Children enjoy being outside in the fresh air to develop their physical health. They enjoy kicking and rolling balls, running and climbing on frames and wooden beams. Staff teach toddlers how to navigate the stairs up and down to their room and babies enjoy using their fingers to explore cornflour and water, developing their dexterity.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

Following recent intervention from Ofsted due to requirements not being met, leaders took appropriate action to ensure steps were taken to improve some aspects of the setting. However, there are areas of the provision where further action is needed to ensure that requirements are met. For example, leaders do not understand how to use funding that some children are entitled to, so that they benefit as fully as possible from their early years education. Leaders recognise this and demonstrate a commitment for improving the setting. There have been a number of changes to staffing, which has impacted on the delivery of the curriculum. Leaders have devised a training programme to support staff, but this is in its infancy and not yet having a positive impact on teaching and learning. Staff have completed a training course on behaviour management, which is having a positive impact on how staff manage children's behaviour. Leaders support staff's wellbeing and consider their workload when making decisions.

Leaders and staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They work closely with parents and outside agencies to ensure they are able to get the most appropriate and targeted support to aid their learning. Parents of these children comment positively on the support given by staff and of the flexible service they offer. Parents comment on how well information is shared regarding their children's learning as well as having ideas on how to support this in the home.