Little Orchard Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are very happy and settled at this clean and organised nursery. They form secure relationships with the caring staff, who know them and their families well. All children demonstrate that they feel valued and cared for. The youngest children confidently climb onto staff's laps and snuggle in for a cuddle. This effectively supports their emotional well-being.

Staff plan a good balance of child-initiated and adult-led play activities. Children develop positive attitudes to learning and make independent choices about their play. They express their creativity and develop strength in their hands as they use small hammers and shapes to create pictures on boards. Children enthusiastically join in with activities led by staff. For example, older children demonstrate their understanding of traditional stories and confidently recall a story about three little pigs. Staff help the youngest children to develop their emerging speech. They introduce single words and associative sounds, such as 'moo', as they play with farm animals. Children demonstrate their understanding of what staff expect from them. Older children cover their mouth when they cough because they know this helps to stop the spread of germs. Children are learning to share and play cooperatively with their friends. The youngest children sleep peacefully in comfortable surroundings. Staff regularly check on them to ensure their safety and well-being.

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

• The leadership and management of this nursery are strong. The provider and staff team have designated roles and responsibilities to aid the efficient and effective management of the nursery. They have a shared vision and are committed to providing all children with the highest quality care and education at all times. Staff morale is high. They speak positively about the provider and the strong support they receive, both in their professional roles and for their personal well-being.
• All children make good progress from their starting points because staff plan an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum. Staff place a strong focus on supporting children to develop skills for life, such as independence, confidence and empathy. Staff make regular assessments of where children are in their learning and development. They use this information to plan for their next steps in learning. However, on occasion, children's planned next steps in learning are not always developmentally appropriate or precise enough to help them make even better progress.
• The provider gives staff many opportunities to continue their professional development. Staff meet regularly with leaders to discuss best practice and identify training needs to further enhance their knowledge and skills. However, the provider does not always monitor staff's practice and the training they attend effectively to identify gaps in their knowledge and precisely target professional development opportunities to raise teaching to an outstanding level.
• Staff support children effectively to learn about healthy lifestyles. The nursery provides nutritious meals and snacks, and staff provide children with daily opportunities for fresh air and exercise. They ensure children are dressed appropriately to enable them to play outside in all weathers. Children demonstrate good physical skills. They run, climb and balance on age-appropriate apparatus. Staff support children to develop patience and to connect with nature. For example, they help children to make bird feeders to encourage the birds to visit the garden more regularly.
• Staff swiftly identify children who are not at their expected levels of development. They work closely with parents and other professionals to develop individual support plans to help children close gaps in their learning.
• Care and hygiene practices are good. Staff seek children's permission to wipe their nose and change their nappy. They gently attend to their personal care. Older children display high levels of independence. They use the self-care station to find a tissue to wipe their nose and ensure the tissue is placed in the bin. Staff remind children to wash their hands at regular intervals during the day.
• Staff have good relationships with parents and update them about their children's time at the nursery in a range of ways. For example, staff speak to parents at the start and end of the day and add information to children's online learning records. Staff host termly parents' evenings, allowing more in-depth conversations about their children's progress. Parents are very happy with the care and education their children receive and comment on the high levels of progress their children make and the wonderful relationships staff have with the children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review children's planned next steps in learning to make sure they are precise and developmentally appropriate to help children make the best possible progress
• monitor staff's practice and the training they attend more closely to precisely identify any gaps in their knowledge and target professional development opportunities to raise the quality of teaching to an outstanding level.