Little Raccoons Day Nursery (Weybridge) Limited

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders and staff include all children, including those who face barriers to their learning and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They work alongside parents and external agencies to identify appropriate support. This ensures that children typically access an inclusive learning environment.

Staff swiftly identify children who would benefit from additional support in their learning and development. This supports children's wellbeing. Children have support plans in place that are regularly reviewed to ensure they contain the right targets for each child. This generally helps to improve outcomes for all children through early intervention and reduces barriers to their learning.

Staff mostly use early intervention strategies to support children's next steps in learning. For instance, staff use visual prompts to help children move from one activity to another. However, leaders have not considered how to support staff to develop their knowledge in order to help them precisely target children's next steps in learning.

Leaders use a graduated approach, and know how to access any funding that children may be eligible for and how it will be used to have the greatest impact in response to children's individual development and learning needs.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders and staff have developed a broad and themed curriculum that is generally focused on building children's knowledge and skills across all areas of learning. They provide children with a wealth of experiences that typically build on their emerging interests and support their physical development. However, staff do not always consider what it is they want children to learn in the outside curriculum. This means teaching is not always focused and consistent across the curriculum.

Staff use regular observations to assess children's progress in order to identify what they need to learn next. Mostly, staff adapt their teaching to meet children's individual needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or children who may face barriers to their learning. For example, at group times staff adapt resources to help encourage children's engagement. This promotes an inclusive culture.

Staff focus on children's communication and language skills. Children eagerly join in with familiar action songs and confidently talk about the characters from stories. Staff engage children in meaningful conversations and teach them new vocabulary through repetition and discussion. This supports children's understanding and vocabulary. Staff promote children's mathematical development. For instance, children count bricks as they build models. These experiences help children develop an understanding of early counting.

Achievement: Expected standard

Typically, children make steady progress from their starting points and develop the knowledge they need for future learning, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children learn early mathematics as they compare the different sizes of their toy dinosaurs. They develop their vocabulary as they describe the features of the dinosaurs, such as 'spiky' and 'ginormous'. Children develop their physical skills and have plenty of opportunities to develop both their small and large muscles. They enjoy riding bikes and jumping as they develop their balance. Children have ample opportunities to access mark-making materials, supporting them for later writing. They create models and pictures with play dough and scoop sand into saucepans. Children are becoming increasingly independent in their self-care skills. They wash their hands before and after mealtimes and ensure they have regular drinks of water. This helps them develop healthy habits for later life. Children are growing in confidence and are ready for their next stage of education.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders and staff know the children very well. From the outset, they work with parents to gather information about children's care routines. This helps children build warm and trusting relationships with the kind staff.

Leaders and staff typically set high expectations for children's behaviour and daily routines. Children eagerly come in at the start of the day and choose their healthy breakfast. Older children know to wash their hands and serve their cereal. Staff support younger children to also learn the routines. This helps all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to understand the structure of their day. This supports children's positive attitude and engagement.

Staff play alongside children and encourage them to share and take turns. They use strategies to help children regulate their own emotions and behaviour. For instance, if a child becomes a little unsettled staff help them use a sand timer to promote turn-taking. This helps children to understand how to share resources positively and promotes children's social skills, helping them develop early friendships.

Leaders monitor children's attendance and share their expectations with parents. This helps keep children safe and also supports children in readiness for their eventual move to school.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders and staff place high importance on the key-person approach. Staff have a secure understanding of how this supports children's emotional wellbeing. They are nurturing in their interactions and sensitive to children's needs. Staff quickly recognise when younger children need time to regulate their emotions. They ensure they spend time with their key children, which his helps children feel safe and secure.

Leaders provide children with healthy lunches and snacks. Staff remind children of the importance of regularly drinking water throughout the day. They sit with children at mealtimes, creating a calm environment, and discuss the positive impact of the healthy foods on their bodies. Staff promote children's manners by modelling 'please' and 'thank you', which children respond to and repeat. Older children begin to serve their own lunch and younger children are warmly supported by their key person.

Leaders promote children's physical development, to typically build on children's next steps of learning. This helps children to develop their larger muscles and provides opportunities for running and catching balls. Children who require additional support, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive individualised approaches in order to meet their individual needs. For example, staff use visual prompts to support children's understanding of their emotions.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders create an inclusive environment where children feel happy, valued and safe. From the outset, staff work closely with parents to gather detailed information about children's interests and development. Staff then complete regular and ongoing assessments of children's development. This helps them accurately identify any emerging needs and put individualised support in place. Leaders work with external agencies and professionals, and make referrals to support children's development. Generally, this targeted support for children, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, helps them to make progress from their starting points.

Leaders plan professional development to meet the needs of the children that they care for. Staff have attended relevant training to support and promote children's language and communication skills. For example, staff use visual cues to help children understand the routines. However, leaders have not yet precisely identified how to support staff to help them consistently build on children's learning and development, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, particularly when children access the outside curriculum.

Leaders develop secure partnerships with parents, who particularly comment on how their children have developed in their communication and social skills. Parents also comment on the setting's regular communication and how this helps them to support their children's learning at home.