Little Olives Day Nursery

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders are committed to building an inclusive culture within the setting. Leaders are responsive to children's emerging needs and engage parents in discussions about how they can support. They work closely with parents who speak English as an additional language so that familiar home-language words can be used with their children. This helps children to feel secure within the setting and develop a sense of belonging. Routines and activities are adapted to ensure that all children's needs are met, including those who face barriers to learning. Staff use now-and-next and choosing boards to support children's communication.

Leaders gather evidence and adopt the graduated approach to monitor children's progress, before making referrals and seeking advice from professionals and external agencies. All staff access special educational needs training to enable them to meet the needs of all children in the setting. Leaders are currently developing their provision to ensure it offers calm spaces where children can have quiet time and develop their ability to self-regulate. Leaders consider how best to use funding to ensure that disadvantaged children can make progress and have a range of opportunities and experiences that have a positive impact on their learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum that covers all areas of learning and prepares children for their next steps. Language development is central. Children sing songs and rhymes, share books and retell familiar stories using accessible resources indoors and outdoors. Trained staff lead 'Tiny Talkers' groups to develop vocabulary, understanding, speaking and confidence. Well-resourced spaces provide varied opportunities to build strength, coordination, and balance. A range of activities strengthen grip and support hand-eye coordination. Children form secure relationships with staff, learn to manage emotions, develop friendships and become increasingly independent in meeting their personal needs. Mathematics is embedded in daily routines and taught through planned activities, for example, through playing shape bingo. Leaders and practitioners know children well and adapt experiences to meet individual needs and stages of development. However, they sometimes fail to prioritise consistently high-quality teaching to ensure that all children access purposeful, planned experiences that help them excel further.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children make appropriate progress from their starting points across the curriculum. Leaders prioritise communication and language, so that children gain the vocabulary, confidence and listening skills needed for learning. The 'Tiny Talkers' booster programme strengthens oral language, while songs, stories and conversations provide regular opportunities to practise new words. Staff know children's next steps, use observations to monitor development and regularly share information with parents. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged children and those previously known to social care, benefit from personalised plans. The use of visual prompts, sensory resources and support from external agencies ensure that children make progress. Children who speak English as an additional language develop confidence because staff use key home-language words and provide focused support during play. Children also build physical, social, mathematical and self-care skills through routines and purposeful activities. Consequently, children are suitably prepared for their next stage of learning, including the transition on to school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders have established clear, consistently understood expectations for behaviour. As a result, children behave well, show kindness and respect, and develop positive attitudes to learning. Warm, responsive relationships help children to feel secure and ready to participate. Staff model respectful interactions and support children to share, collaborate, wait patiently and take turns. They take account of children's ages, stages of development, individual needs and circumstances. Appropriate adaptations to routines and the provision enable all children to participate successfully, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning.

Children develop confidence, resilience and independence by selecting resources, joining group activities and persisting when tasks are challenging. Daily routines also promote self-care. Children wash their hands using accessible sinks, choose cutlery, pour drinks and manage personal needs with increasing independence. Leaders encourage families to access funded early education and reinforce the importance of regular attendance and punctuality. Overall, children understand routines, respond positively to expectations and are well supported to become considerate, confident and increasingly independent learners.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders provide a safe, welcoming environment in which children's welfare and wellbeing are prioritised. Staff know children well and follow individual care routines, including personal care, sleep and mealtimes. These routines are calm, unhurried and adapted to children's ages, development and circumstances. Secure, responsive relationships with key persons help all children to feel safe and develop strong attachments. Children access the outdoors daily and experience appropriate risk and challenge. Staff use these opportunities effectively to teach personal safety and support physical development.

Nutritious home-cooked meals and snacks promote healthy choices. Staff sit with children at mealtimes, model positive habits and encourage conversation. Older children increasingly manage their personal needs independently. Practitioners help children to recognise and express their feelings, develop confidence and begin to regulate their emotions. Overall, care practices support children's health, security and growing independence effectively. Leaders do not take every opportunity to develop calm, safe spaces and environmental adaptations for children whose sensory or emotional regulation needs cannot always be met within the main provision.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders understand the setting's strengths and have identified suitable priorities for further improvement. Leaders are ambitious for children and have introduced a suitably challenging curriculum that supports their next stages of learning. Staff access professional development designed to strengthen their ability to meet children's diverse needs. Leaders give consideration to staff workload and wellbeing, and staff report that they feel valued and supported.

Positive partnerships with parents are well established and parents feel involved in their child's learning. Flexible settling-in arrangements support children's transitions, while regular conversations and updates enable parents to contribute to home learning. Leaders use additional funding to purchase resources tailored to individual needs. However, they do not evaluate precisely how this spending improves children's progress. Leaders do not currently align professional development with improvement priorities. They do not monitor closely the impact this has on practice and children's outcomes.