Little Petals Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and safe. They settle well on arrival, even though parents have to say goodbye to them at the entrance. This is due to the adaptions made to keep everyone safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Caring staff tenderly greet children with a hug and a smile. Children enter with eagerness, ready to play and explore.

Children thoroughly enjoy themselves in this vibrant but homely setting. Leaders have adopted an ethos and curriculum that strives to help all children to be well prepared for future learning. Children benefit from rich opportunities and stimulating learning experiences. Pre-school children show brilliant mathematical awareness. For example, they carefully count the spots and identify the correct number on large floor dice. They consider which shape and different sized piece can be used to successfully complete a puzzle. Two-year-old children display good physical skills. They competently use both hands to pump water out of spray bottles and make marks. Babies figure out how to work switches, press locks, push buttons, and operate plenty of cause-and-effect resources. All children build excellent critical thinking skills, perseverance and agility.

Children make good progress. They have fun during activities, which staff plan to interest and motivate children to learn. Staff are kind and considerate role models who have high expectations for children's behaviour. Children are praised and rewarded for their achievements. This means they feel good about themselves and have high self-esteem and confidence.

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

• The curriculum for personal, social and emotional development is strong. Leaders focus on ensuring all children have opportunities to develop self-assurance and independence. Even young children are starting to feed themselves. They are encouraged to use cutlery as supportive staff are close by, lending a helping hand until babies become more capable.
• Leaders have the same ambitions for all children. This includes children who speak English as an additional language and those who need a little more help. Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are blossoming in this nursery. Staff work hard to make sure that children receive the support they require. Close partnership working with external professionals helps to ensure that swift intervention is sought and the correct strategies are adopted.
• The curriculum is planned well, in the main. Staff have a good knowledge of what children know and can do. However, in the baby room, staff are not consistently helping babies to develop some of the key aspects that leaders have identified for them. For example, communication and language skills. The team in this room is less experienced. As a result, they have not considered how keeping dummies in for prolonged periods of time affects young children's speaking skills and ability to interact. In addition, in this room, some of the nursery procedures are not followed meticulously.
• Pre-school children are given the responsibility of 'special helper'. They relish the role and help staff with tasks, such as tidying away the place mats. Staff acknowledge pre-school children's acts of generosity by using a 'kindness jar'. Their kind act is discussed and celebrated by all. Two-year-old children play ring games. They hold hands with their friends and sing and dance with vigour. Two-year-old children also enjoy cooperative play. They take turns to roll a ball to each other, considerately checking that everyone has a turn.
• Self-evaluation is used well. Leaders evaluate the provision to identify areas to enhance and find ways to share best practice. A recent example of this was when a nursery manager from another setting was invited to visit the nursery to conduct a quality audit. Leaders were pleased that the strengths of the setting were identified and they have been able to act on the suggestions for improvement.
• Parents are kept updated with their children's care and learning. However, although parents recognise the progress that children make, they are not all aware of how to continue children's learning at home. Nonetheless, parents praise staff by nominating them for the 'Parent Pride' award. Parents comment that the team treat children as family. One parent said that her child 'is happy and that is everything'.
• Hygiene practices are not robust in the baby room. Staff sometimes forget to implement the nursery procedures, such as making sure babies have clean hands before they eat. Staff do adopt some other positive routines, for example wearing gloves and aprons to serve meals and snacks.
• Leaders guide staff to help them to strengthen their good skills. Many staff comment that they are happy in their work and this is why they have been employed for such a long time. Leaders use methods to avoid any unnecessary burden on staff workload. For example, an online application system and messaging service is used to communicate with parents. Staff training and support is good, overall. However, leaders recognise that due to recent changes to the baby room team, further work is required to achieve the very high standards which are embedded across the other rooms.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide more targeted support to staff in the baby room help them to improve the implementation of the curriculum
• strengthen hygiene practices in the baby room
• help all parents to be able to contribute towards children's learning at home.