Little Puddings Nursery

Inclusion: Expected standard

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those known or previously known to social care and disadvantaged children benefit from an inclusive culture that reflects their individual needs. Staff identify children's needs early through ongoing assessments and recognise when children may benefit from additional support. They work closely with parents, carers and other professionals, such as speech and language therapists, to help children access the support they need. Leaders attend social care meetings to develop targeted plans and ensure children remain safe during their time at the setting. Parents and carers comment on their appreciation for the help and support they have received. Leaders signpost families to additional services when needed. This collaborative approach helps children receive the timely support they need.

Children who face barriers to learning are supported through thoughtful adaptions to routines, teaching and resources. For example, staff clear space outdoors for children who need opportunities to run and support their self-regulation. Staff receive some training to strengthen communication strategies, such as the use of signing. This helps children participate confidently alongside their friends and generally supports the progress they make from their individual starting points.

Leaders review information about children's individual needs and monitor their progress while considering how to use additional funding effectively. For instance, funding is used to purchase sensory resources linked to children's interests and developmental needs.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

The curriculum for the youngest children is not yet typically as effective in providing consistent high-quality learning experiences. For example, during outdoor play, children of different ages play together in the same space, which can be overwhelming for babies. This means at times, they wander without purposeful engagement from staff to support their learning. Furthermore, there is no clear curriculum intent for the youngest children to help staff plan precisely to support their next steps in learning. For instance, they share topics from older children's planning which are not age appropriate. This means at times, learning is incidental and does not fully support all children's progress.

Leaders are in early stages of identifying the improvements needed to teaching. They have identified weaknesses in planning and have started to make improvements. Leaders design the curriculum around children's interests and staff generally use observations and assessments to identify appropriate next steps for children. These are shared with parents to support learning at home.

Older children are provided typically with high-quality teaching opportunities that support them in readiness for their next stage of learning and eventual move on to school. They develop communication and language skills through daily song and story times. Staff engage children in conversations and use interactions and questioning to extend thinking and deepen children's understanding. Daily outdoor play supports children's physical development and builds coordination and confidence. Small-movement skills are supported appropriately through activities, such as mark making and manipulating small objects. These experiences help children to build skills across the curriculum.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those known or previously know to social care and disadvantaged children receive appropriate support to access the curriculum. Staff use their knowledge of each child to adapt activities and experiences to ensure barriers are reduced over time and learning is accessible and inclusive.

Achievement: Needs attention

While children typically make progress and move forward from their starting points, not all children, particularly babies, make the progress they are capable of. For example, babies do not always fully engage in their learning or benefit from purposeful experiences that support their next steps. Older children are confident and motivated to learn. They develop imaginative thinking skills that successfully support their literacy development. For instance, children pretend to make ice creams and fill cones with sand during role play around a trip to the seaside. Children are confident communicators and enjoy singing and reading with staff. They eagerly join in with familiar parts of a song they remember. Children demonstrate effective recall and memory skills, such as counting in sequence and using prepositional language, such as 'under' and 'over' during play.

Children make progress in developing age-appropriate independence skills through daily routines and experiences. For example, children learn to feed themselves and take off their own coats. They develop secure physical skills, such as while scooping bark and sand and running and balancing during outdoor play. This helps older children gain the foundational skills they need for their next stage of learning and eventual move on to school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders establish a positive and inclusive environment with clear expectations for children's behaviour. These are communicated well by staff and understood by children. Staff are positive role models and demonstrate calm, respectful interactions. Children understand daily routines and move between activities with minimal disruption. They respond well to gentle reminders and praise for their efforts. Relationships between staff and children are warm and respectful. Children feel secure and show confidence and typically high levels of self-esteem.

Children behave well and, overall, develop positive attitudes to their learning. Staff support children to recognise and express their feelings and begin to understand emotions. For instance, staff explain to children why they need to be kind to their friends. This helps children develop empathy and emotional awareness. Children are supported to play alongside their friends, share and take turns. Staff adapt experiences to meet the different ages- and stages-of development. Interactions are calm and sensitive, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those known or previously known to social care and disadvantaged children.

Effective procedures are in place to monitor children's attendance. Leaders make their expectations clear to parents and carers before children start at the setting, to promote regular and prompt attendance.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

The key-person system is not yet effective in practice. Children do not consistently benefit from support from a key person because leaders have not ensured staff fully understand or implement the key-person roll effectively. For example, at times, staff are unclear about which children they are supporting as key workers. Furthermore, parents and carers are not always aware of who their child's key person is. These arrangements do not fully support children's welfare and emotional wellbeing.

Overall, children settle well in the warm and inclusive environment. Children form positive relationships with staff and their friends over time. They are supported to develop an understanding of healthy lifestyles. Children access daily free-flow outdoor play, supporting their physical health and wellbeing. Children are provided with a range of healthy foods and staff gather information about dietary requirements to help meet their individual needs. Children generally learn about personal safety and how to manage risk. For example, staff support children to balance safely across beams, outdoors. Children's care needs are met appropriately. For instance, staff manage toileting and intimate-hygiene routines and complete monitoring checks when children are sleeping to help ensure safety.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

There have recently been significant changes in the leadership and governance of the setting. This has had an impact on the day-to-day running of the setting. Although improvements are largely focused on appropriate areas for development, they do not lead to improvement quickly enough. Staff training is not yet sharply focused on their individual areas for development. Staff do not receive supervision sessions or feedback on their practice to help identify strengths and areas for development. This does not drive continuous improvement to the quality of teaching and practice across the setting. Leaders are reflective and committed to making improvement to the overall management of the setting.

Staff attend mandatory training, such as safeguarding and paediatric first aid. In addition, staff complete some additional training, such as inclusion training. This helps develop their skill in supporting children with barriers to their learning. Staff report they enjoy working at the setting and feel leaders support their emotional wellbeing and workload effectively.

Partnership with parents, carers and external agencies promote children's learning and development. Staff maintain open communication with parents through daily conversations and an online platform, where they share observations and photos. Parents appreciate the warm and caring environment staff create. Staff provide parents with suggestions for activities to support children's home learning. This collaborative approach helps provide some consistency in children's care and learning and supports the progress they make.