Little People of Hampton

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The nursery is an inviting and welcoming environment, where children are greeted by warm, caring and affectionate staff. Children are confident and thrive at nursery. They have developed trusting relationships with staff, which provides them with safety and security. Babies are joyful; they confidently explore their surroundings and enjoy copious opportunities to develop their language.

The newly appointed manager ensures the children experience an exciting and enriching curriculum. Staff are attuned to children's individual needs and interests, which are well planned for. Children are happy to take part in a range of activities and have an abundance of opportunities to choose how they want to play. Managers have transformed the outdoor environment and, as a result, children have high-quality learning opportunities to learn about the world around them. They enjoy growing vegetables and herbs, which are used in their cooking, and they share the responsibility of looking after and feeding their pet ducks.

Children develop strong communication skills and learn how to regulate their emotions. They are polite, negotiate with their peers and take turns with resources. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress from their starting points. As a result, they are progressing rapidly.

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

• Managers and leaders reflect on practice and evaluate the nursery to develop and improve children's experiences. The environment has been carefully considered to develop their vision.
• Staff confidently talk about how management supports their well-being and personal development. They have regular supervisions and have access to training to build on what they already know and what they can do better.
• Children have lots of opportunities to explore new language. As a result, children develop a love of stories and mimic new words when they share books. Staff read stories with enthusiasm and relate them to what is happening around them.
• Parents share that staff are friendly and approachable. They express their gratitude to the nursery for holding events that bring families together. Regular assessments are shared with parents to encourage learning at home. Children have opportunities to engage with the community. However, these could be enhanced further to build on the good knowledge children gain about the world.
• Staff are sensitive to children's feelings and talk through what is happening next, such as when they ask to wipe their noses and hands. Staff also ask children questions beginning with 'Can I?' and 'Would you like?' when they address children. Children's behaviours and attitudes are good. Children are encouraged to manage their own feelings/behaviours and are assisted by staff when they have difficulties. Because of this, children can communicate effectively. They are polite, well mannered and have mutual respect.
• Children with SEND have plans in place to support their progress. Parents are included in their development. Representatives of external agencies regularly attend the setting to work in partnership to ensure that children who are at risk of delay have gaps in their knowledge narrowed.
• The nursery has an exciting curriculum. For example, children enjoy reading recipes to make potions, developing their mathematical language as they work out what ingredients they need to add. Babies have opportunities to practise their counting skills, saying 'One, two, three' while using the balance beams. However, during group activities, this is not as consistent, which means that those who are less confident do not gain the same knowledge as their peers.
• Children share delight in gymnastics classes. They practise their stretching and understand how important exercise and good nutrition are for their body. Children develop coordination and balancing skills and understand how their hearts beat faster when they are active.
• Children have opportunities to develop their early independence skills. Children of all ages enjoy helping to be responsible for setting up and tidying away. They serve themselves at mealtimes. Babies practise using cutlery and drink from a cup without a lid to prepare them for transition to their next stage of learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• further enhance the learning experiences for children who are less confident during focused activities
• consider enhancing what is already available to develop children's deeper knowledge of the world through further links within the community.