Little Nest Nursery Ltd

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders create a welcoming and inclusive culture in which staff identify and support children's individual needs. Staff gather information from parents and carers during enrolment through discussions and forms. This helps them to understand children's interests, developmental needs and any emerging concerns. Staff generally adapt activities and routines to help children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those with barriers to learning. This helps these children to access learning experiences and make progress from their starting points. For example, staff support children with communication needs through gestures, visual prompts and one-to-one support. Leaders adapt the learning environment to provide a quieter and calmer space for children who are sensitive to noise. This supports children's wellbeing and engagement in learning.

Leaders provide staff with training to enhance their understanding of how to support children with SEND and those who face barriers to learning. Leaders work with families, the local authority inclusion team and other external professionals to secure support and funding for these children. Leaders typically review children's progress through discussions with staff and parents to assess the impact of support strategies. However, sometimes, staff do not implement targeted strategies and activities across all age groups. Consequently, although children make positive progress, inconsistencies in practice mean that children's learning and development are not always extended further.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders and staff demonstrate a secure understanding of child development. Staff observe children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning, to identify the next steps they want children to achieve in their learning and development. Leaders provide a broad and engaging curriculum that offers children stimulating learning experiences. For example, children visit parks, shops and museums. Staff use these experiences to help children to learn about their local and wider communities. These experiences support children to develop self-confidence and an understanding of the world around them.

Staff recognise the importance of promoting children's language skills. They encourage a love of stories by providing fiction, non-fiction and bilingual books. They use expressive intonation during storytelling sessions to capture children's attention and engagement. Children are confident communicators. Staff introduce mathematical language and concepts progressively. Babies count blocks while building towers, and toddlers sing counting rhymes. Pre-school children learn vocabulary linked to shapes, such as 'sides' and 'corners'.

Leaders prioritise children's communication, physical development, and personal, social and emotional development throughout the curriculum. For example, children participate in weekly sports sessions. They follow instructions, move in different ways, navigate around obstacles and kick balls. This helps to develop their coordination, spatial awareness and stamina.

Overall, children progress well across all areas of learning in the early years foundation stage. However, staff do not consistently demonstrate a precise understanding of the intended learning outcomes of planned activities. As a result, opportunities to extend children's learning even further through questioning and purposeful interactions are not consistent, which limits how fully children build on what they already know and can do.

Achievement: Expected standard

Typically, children make positive progress from their starting points across the curriculum, particularly in communication and language. Children learn new skills through their play and meaningful interactions. Children who face barriers to their learning develop increasing confidence in expressing themselves and communicating their needs and ideas. For instance, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) use progressively longer sentences to communicate their needs and ideas. During group activities, children confidently talk about their experiences, answer questions and use a growing range of vocabulary.

Children, including those who experience barriers to learning or wellbeing and those with SEND, demonstrate sustained focus and concentration during play and activities. For instance, children ride wheeled toys outdoors and correctly identify and count vegetables, such as carrots, cucumbers and broccoli. Children demonstrate growing independence in daily routines. They dress themselves before going outdoors, feed themselves at mealtimes and wash their hands after using the toilet. Children develop the skills they need for the next stages in their learning, including school. However, inconsistencies in the quality of teaching mean that children's achievements are not always fully maximised.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders create a welcoming environment and set high expectations for children's behaviour. Staff build warm and caring relationships with children. This helps children to feel safe, secure and valued. For instance, children invite staff to join in their play and seek reassurance from familiar adults. Overall, children follow instructions and behave well. Staff act as positive role models and generally support children's behaviour through rules, praise and gentle reminders. However, they do not consistently help children fully understand the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others. For example, staff remind children to walk indoors, but they do not always explain the reasons linked to safety and consideration for others. This does not help children to understand the reasons for the expectations on their behaviour.

Key-person arrangements support children to develop secure attachments and positive attitudes towards learning. Children work collaboratively with their peers. For example, children take turns using paint to print different shapes on card and proudly display their artwork in the classroom. Staff praise children's efforts and achievements, which develops their confidence and sense of belonging.

Leaders promote the importance of regular attendance and work closely with parents and carers to reduce barriers to their children attending. For example, leaders offer flexible attendance arrangements for children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning. This helps children to settle quickly and fully benefit from the experiences provided by the nursery.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders and staff implement procedures effectively to meet all children's individual needs. For example, snacks and meals are healthy, balanced and nutritious. Children wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating their meals. Staff sit with children during mealtimes to supervise and keep them safe. They encourage children to feed themselves and pour their own water. Staff generally talk to children about how healthy foods help their bodies grow and stay healthy. This supports children's understanding of healthy lifestyles.

Children develop warm and trusting relationships with staff. For instance, staff follow hygienic procedures during personal care routines and encourage children to participate in the process. This helps children to feel respected and increasingly independent in managing their own personal care needs. Staff help children to recognise and manage their emotions through warm interactions, reassurance and predictable routines. This supports children's emotional wellbeing and sense of self.

Leaders and staff know children's interests and use this knowledge to provide stimulating learning experiences for children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning. Children access outdoor play daily and enjoy physical activities such as using climbing equipment, playing ball games and planting seeds. These experiences help children to develop their muscles, coordination, confidence and an understanding of nature.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders work proactively to strengthen and maintain high standards of education and care for children and their families. They demonstrate a clear understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for development. Staff typically engage in professional development opportunities to help them implement a step-by-step approach to promote children's learning, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to learning. However, leaders do not consistently provide targeted coaching and support for staff to help them implement high-quality teaching and maximise outcomes for all children.

Leaders implement robust recruitment and induction procedures to ensure that adults working with children are suitable and understand their roles and responsibilities. Staff report that they feel valued, supported and work collaboratively as a team.

Parents and carers speak positively about the nursery and value the warm relationships staff build with their children. They report that children settle well and make positive progress. Parents say they benefit from regular communication through discussions, parents' evenings and the online childcare app. This supports continuity of learning between home and the nursery. Leaders also work with staff, families and external professionals to identify children's individual needs and help them to overcome any barriers to their learning.