Little Pioneers Nursery & Pre-School, Swindon

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and excited for their day at nursery. There is a very strong key-person system throughout the nursery. Children have excellent relationships with their key person, which helps to ensure they feel safe and secure. Babies who have recently joined receive care tailored to their individual needs. Staff know them very well and support them to engage in their play. Older children confidently explore their environment, make independent choices and seek staff support when needed.

Leaders and staff construct and deliver a broad, inclusive and meaningful curriculum for all children. There is a strong focus on developing children's independence, as well as their social and emotional skills. Staff working with the youngest children support them to wash their hands for mealtimes and encourage them to use cutlery independently. Staff use positive reinforcement and say 'good trying' when children attempt to use cutlery. Children beam with pride at their success. Older children tend to their own personal care needs, put on their own coats for garden play and pour their own drinks at mealtimes. Children learn to be independent and develop a high self-esteem.

Staff provide children with various opportunities to be physically active. Babies pull themselves up to standing and cruise around the low-level furniture, building their leg muscles for walking. Older children run with their friends outdoors and learn to pedal trikes. Staff also provide activities for children to develop their small hand muscles ready for early writing. Children manipulate play dough with their hands and use various resources to make marks on paper.

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

• Staff use an effective monitoring and assessment process to ensure they prepare children for their next stage of learning. Staff know what they want the children to learn. They use their knowledge of what children already know to sequence learning effectively. Staff regularly discuss their children's development with parents and the staff team to formulate next steps for learning. Children make good progress in all areas of learning and have a positive attitude to learning.
• Staff provide excellent support for children who speak English as an additional language. They celebrate children's cultures and traditions. Staff invite parents to share key words in their home language and create a 'dictionary' for children to access and share with friends. Books in a variety of different languages are available for children. Children independently seek out these books. They flick through the pages and look at the pictures and text. Children have access to a highly inclusive environment and feel valued.
• Staff create structured activities for older children in preparation for school.
• Children enjoy a group activity exploring ice. They show delight when they observe the ice melting and colours mixing. They say, 'It's a rainbow'. Staff discuss the colours with the children and make links between the cold weather and how ice is created. However, at times, such as during group activities, staff do not use strategies to help children engage successfully. For example, during a story time, some children become bored, leave the group and access other resources. This distracts those who are trying to engage. Staff do not always successfully support children to remain focused, re-join the activity and develop their concentration and listening skills.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are very well supported. Staff who support children with SEND are extremely knowledgeable. They know the children well and tailor their teaching style to best support them. They work closely with parents and external agencies to ensure that children get the support they need to make their time at nursery successful. Children are happy, settled and make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and are good role models for children. They speak to babies sensitively and treat all children with respect. However, at times, when older children are unsure how to interact with activities, they bang resources on tables and discard items on the floor. Staff do not always use these opportunities to model play for older children and support them to engage with purpose.
• Leaders and staff have excellent partnerships with parents. Parents speak highly of the staff team and praise staff for the high-quality care and education they provide their children. Staff give parents the opportunity to be involved in their children's learning through parents' evenings and daily conversations. Parents also report that much information is shared electronically. Families are very well supported.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance teaching and support during group activities to develop older children's concentration and listening skills further
• use every opportunity to model play and consistently support older children to engage with purpose.