Little Puddleducks LTD

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are welcomed into the homely setting by a kind and caring staff team who knows them well. The environment is safe and supportive of each child's individual needs. Staff design an engaging curriculum that empowers all children to lead their own learning. The curriculum aligns with children's developmental stages and builds on their existing knowledge and skills.

Staff place a strong focus on children's personal, social and emotional development. They offer comfort and reassurance to the youngest children when they become unsettled. Staff's nurturing interactions help children to feel safe and secure. Children engage in a wide range of learning experiences that staff provide for them. Staff support children's good behaviour. They provide them with gentle reminders to promote their understanding of how to keep themselves safe. For example, staff encourage children to ride tricycles in open spaces to avoid accidents.

Staff provide a range of inviting sensory activities that promote children's exploratory skills. Babies use their hands to explore the texture of cooked spaghetti and practise using spoons as they move it around the tray. This helps them to develop early self-care skills, such as learning to feed themselves. Older children enthusiastically investigate coloured water, testing their ideas as they use different-sized spoons and containers to transport it around. Staff's interactions are warm and meaningful. They effectively support children's growing language skills as they introduce and repeat words, such as 'splash'. They stimulate children's curiosity and support children's critical-thinking skills, for example, by asking 'what will happen' questions.

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

• Staff make effective use of assessment to monitor children's development and identify any emerging gaps in their learning. They collaborate closely with external professionals, such as the speech and language team, to implement intervention and close gaps in learning. Additional funding enhances learning opportunities for all children. For example, children participate in yoga and football sessions at the setting, helping them to improve their physical skills and core strength.
• The setting provides all children with a wide variety of nutritionally balanced meals and snacks that meet their dietary needs. Children wash their hands before mealtimes, and staff encourage them to adopt good table manners. However, staff do not consistently use opportunities throughout the day to enhance children's understanding of the components of a healthy lifestyle. For example, they do not regularly discuss the benefits of good hygiene practices or how healthy foods and drinks support children's overall health and well-being.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff share information about children's experiences with them daily, both at drop-off and pick-up times and by adding information to children's online learning records. Parent feedback is very positive. They describe the staff who care for their children as kind and professional. Parents comment that their children see staff as extended family.
• Staff promote tolerance and acceptance by teaching children to be respectful and kind to their peers. This helps children to build positive friendships. Staff recognise children's family structures and cultures and plan activities to support children's awareness of festivals and celebrations, such as Halloween. However, staff have not yet identified ways to fully promote children's understanding of the similarities and differences between people and communities to help them develop an appreciation for what makes them unique.
• Staff support children's awareness of emotions and feelings through carefully planned story time experiences. They read enthusiastically and provide soft toys of the characters to enhance children's engagement. Children connect with the characters and use vocabulary to describe their feelings, such as happy, sad and angry. Staff engage children in constructive discussions about managing their emotions. Children share that when they feel angry, they can stamp their feet.
• The setting has effective recruitment procedures in place to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Staff undergo a robust induction period and participate in ongoing supervision to monitor the quality of their practice. This process directs them to targeted professional development opportunities to improve their already good knowledge and skills. Staff attend monthly staff meetings, where they reflect on practice and share ideas. The provider promotes staff well-being through regular check-ins and reward incentives, helping staff to feel valued.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to consistently use opportunities to promote children's understanding of a healthy lifestyle and how these factors contribute to their overall health and well-being
• provide children with even more experiences to support their understanding of diversity and help them to develop an appreciation for what makes them unique.