Little Owls Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are confident and independent learners. The nursery is designed in a way that mirrors a home environment. This helps children to feel safe and secure. Behaviours and attitudes towards learning are exemplary. Children sit, listen and pay attention to each other's opinions. They know routines very well and follow the rules of the nursery. Children learn about independence across nursery. For example, young babies feed themselves at snack times and lunchtimes, while being supported by a team of nurturing practitioners. Older babies know when they feel tired and will make their own way to the sleep room to lie down. Older children are able to put on their own coats and shoes to go outside.

Children have rich and stimulating experiences in the outdoor environment. They walk to the forest school area each week and can describe what they learned while they were there. When taking part in physical activities outdoors, children can describe the effects that exercise has had on their bodies. Children throughout this nursery are valued and each family receives a rigorous transition process when children first start at the setting and subsequently progress from one room to another. Staff work collaboratively with families to share their knowledge of the child's development and use this information to skilfully plan their next steps in learning. This results in children making good progress from their starting points.

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

• The manager is extremely passionate about her role and goes above and beyond to support the children and families that attend. There is an effective key-person system in place. Staff get to know children and families very well at this nursery. They learn about the children's interests from their parents or carers and use this information to craft exciting learning opportunities.
• Staff who are working on an apprenticeship scheme receive extensive support from the manager, who encourages them to practise new skills. This has helped enhance the way they teach children, particularly in child-initiated learning. However, the manager has not yet embedded fully effective professional development systems across the nursery with all staff. This leaves some staff members unsure of what they need to work on to help further enhance learning experiences for children.
• The manager has designed a curriculum that focuses on children's well-being and independence as a priority. Staff have continuously high expectations of the children. This has resulted in children of all ages learning to respond to their own feelings and being able to attend to their own physical needs from an early age. Children in the baby room can independently climb the toddler stairs and navigate down the slide. They show pride in their achievement and look to adults in the room for praise.
• The manager has developed a motivated leadership team whose members work together to drive improved outcomes for children and use their expertise to support children's development. The special educational needs coordinator uses her specialism to assess children's communication and language skills and provide targeted intervention to support any areas of difficulty. All children gain the skills they need to support them through their onward journeys and on to school.
• Children throughout nursery learn to live healthy lifestyles. They all routinely wash their hands before every meal and are provided with nutritious snacks and are encouraged to eat a well-balanced lunchtime meal. Staff talk to the children about the effects of sugar on their teeth and provide information to parents on maintaining good oral hygiene.
• Staff actively promote communication and language. They skilfully engage children in activities to enhance their concentration and this has supported them to sit quietly and listen to stories with interest and interaction. Stories are used as a key learning resource to enhance understanding of key concepts. Staff teach children the language of size when sharing a story about animals. Children compare sizes of animals when using them to paint with. This provides children with meaningful experiential learning. A lending library supports families to share stories at home with their children and extend their vocabulary further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen professional development opportunities for staff to help further enhance learning experiences for children.