Little Rascals Nursery

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders and staff know children and their families exceptionally well. They are attentive to children's individual needs and barriers to learning and swiftly identify and put support in place to ensure that all children can thrive and make progress. The nursery has built strong and effective partnerships with parents, which ensures that the information shared about children is consistent, timely and relevant, allowing for any barriers or concerns to be addressed and plans put in place. Leaders prioritise working with other professionals where necessary to ensure that appropriate strategies are adopted.

Leaders have high expectations for all children and ensure that they have a highly trained staff team that understands child development and quickly identifies when children may need additional support. Plans put in place to support children are precisely focused on what they need to develop next and are consistently implemented and monitored alongside parents to measure the impact on the outcomes for children. Furthermore, leaders ensure that funding is targeted appropriately, including for disadvantaged children, to meet their individual needs.

Children who speak English as an additional language are extremely well supported in the nursery. Resources such as dual language books, and strong partnerships with parents, allow staff to fully understand how to support children with their routines and meet their individual needs.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders and staff design and execute an ambitious curriculum for every child, focusing clearly on their personal, social, emotional, physical and communication and language development. They benefit from consistent and high-quality interactions with staff to develop their knowledge and communication and language skills. Staff meaningfully interact with children, asking open-ended questions to extend and develop their thinking. Staff working with babies understand the importance of singing and sharing books with children to encourage their language development. Children are learning about mathematical concepts as they explore shape by placing objects into sorters, count objects and hear numbers in familiar songs.

Children and babies have ample meaningful opportunities to develop their physical skills. For example, babies are provided with safe opportunities to pull themselves to standing and learn how to take risks safely as they climb steps and explore low-level indoor climbing apparatus. All children also have daily time outside, where they can further practise their physical skills with bicycles and tricycles. Trips out in the local community to the library and local parks also provide occasions for children to learn about keeping safe when out of the nursery.

Assessment plays a crucial role in helping staff grasp what children are capable of and what they need to focus on next. This guarantees that activities and interactions are appropriately tailored to assist all children, regardless of any special educational needs and/or disabilities or other learning barriers, enabling them to thrive.

Nonetheless, the adjustments to routines and transition times have not yet been completely integrated to guarantee that children's engagement and learning remains uninterrupted. Leaders have recognised this as a key area for improvement and are actively working to make transitions smoother.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children and babies feel secure and develop positive attitudes to learning and when mastering new skills. The personal, social and emotional development of children, along with their communication and language abilities, are progressing positively and swiftly from their starting points. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) as well as those who are learning English as an additional language.

Children self-select activities of their choice from the inspiring environments and access resources to help them initiate their own play. For example, children are fascinated by sensory play, such as sand and water, play dough and using flour and water to create mixtures. Children show sustained levels of concentration and persevere to learn new skills. For instance, when building with magnetic blocks, children concentrate for extended periods of time to make their creations.

All children, regardless of their starting points and any SEND or other barriers to their learning, make significant progress in their development. Strategies and early interventions are in place and effective.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Staff build strong relationships with children and families and implement clear and consistent routines. Leaders have embedded a culture of harmony and respect, recognising each child as a unique individual. Staff excel in guiding and teaching children how to handle their emotions, which aids in forming strong emotional bonds. Children show great independence and confidence and require minimal assistance from staff. At snack time, children take the initiative to wash their hands and relish the freedom of pouring their own drinks and selecting their own snacks.

The staff serve as excellent role models, as seen in the behaviours of the children. Children show kindness towards one another and require minimal adult assistance when it comes to taking turns and sharing activities and resources. It is evident to see how this is embedded in the baby room and further built upon as children transition through the nursery.

Established routines for ensuring children's safety are deeply integrated into the daily practices of the nursery. Leaders recognise how crucial it is for children to attend regularly and work collaboratively with parents.

Effective and well-established settling procedures guarantee that children are thoroughly ready for their transition into and throughout the nursery. Home visits play a crucial role in helping staff build effective relationships with children and their families. Additionally, settling procedures are tailored to each child and develop gradually to promote their wellbeing and readiness to attend independently. Tools like 'all about me' cards assist all staff in recognising the individual needs of each child, ensuring that they receive consistent care.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Staff and leaders always place the welfare and wellbeing of every child at the forefront. Leaders diligently oversee and assess policies, training, practices and procedures to uphold this commitment. For instance, they emphasise staff training to ensure that everyone is confident in the policies and procedures designed to keep children safe. Staff have a deep understanding of the children they care for, their families and any possible obstacles to learning. By collaborating with parents and caregivers, staff consistently provide exceptional care to all children, addressing their unique needs.

Children are joyful and friendly and feel safe. The staff have built strong connections with every child, enhancing their emotional wellbeing. With thoughtfully crafted and integrated routines, children learn about behaviours and habits that promote their welfare and wellbeing, including maintaining a healthy diet and good oral health.

Children show they thoroughly enjoy their learning. All children engage in the activities and persevere, as staff praise them for their achievements and encourage them to try again if they are not successful the first time. Older children sit and play games together, such as circle games introducing children's names, showing they can wait and take their turn. They are developing the key social skills they will need for starting school.

Staff support children to manage their feelings and emotions effectively. They talk to them about how they are feeling and how they might feel better. Those working with babies are exceptionally attentive to their needs and routines, making sure they feel happy and safe. For example, parents of babies receive fabric squares that they keep near them at home prior to their babies' arrival. These squares then move to the nursery, offering comfort to the babies during bottle feeding, allowing them to sense their parents' scent.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders are extremely committed in their drive to continuously improve the setting. They constantly reflect on ways to maintain and improve the setting's very high standards. Leaders have created a nurturing atmosphere where employees truly feel acknowledged and appreciated. They are attentive to the development, wellbeing and workload of their team. This approach leads to an impressively low staff turnover rate and cultivates a respectful and harmonious workplace. Leaders offer high-quality training and support to help staff continuously enhance their skills and practices. Employees often reflect on the benefits of consistent training, mentoring and coaching that broaden their knowledge and abilities. For example, peer observations are a time for staff to reflect on their practice and provide feedback to others.

Leaders demonstrate excellent methods of collaborating with parents. They provide a wealth of information to parents every day, both face-to-face and through an online app that is shared with staff and used to individualise children's care and learning.

The inclusive ethos of the nursery underpins its dedication to providing support for all families, considering the various needs and makeup of each individual and the community. For example, family events are held over the weekend to accommodate working parents. Parents and staff are proud of the nursery and the positive impact it has on those that attend.