Little Shoes Nursery Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Throughout the nursery, children behave well and generally show a good attitude to learning. Staff regularly remind them of the rules, which helps to promote positive behaviour. For instance, at mealtimes, children wait patiently for their food to be served. This supports children to tolerate delay. Older children eagerly join in to help tidy up when staff ask them to. Staff extend this by encouraging children to work together. For example, they ask children to help each other to carry a plank from the assault course and put it away. This enables children to develop an understanding of how to cooperate with others.

Staff organise the learning environment to support children's physical development. For instance, babies enjoy climbing and crawling over soft-play equipment to reach a ball pit at the end. When they have completed their circuit, they seek out staff to share in their achievement. Staff praise them, and this helps to strengthen bonds with children.

Staff support children to develop an understanding of what could harm them. For example, during a cooking activity, staff explain how to hold the grater so that they do not hurt themselves. Children show their understanding by responding appropriately to the instructions that staff give to them. This enables children to learn to use the equipment safely and promotes their awareness of how to manage risks for themselves.

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

• Leaders regularly observe staff practice. This enables them to monitor the quality of the education being provided to children. Leaders give staff effective feedback, which highlights their strengths and areas where they may need further support. This enables leaders to identify staff training needs to enhance the quality of teaching.
• Children benefit from teaching that gradually builds on what they know and can do. For instance, during mealtimes, staff gently guide babies to serve their own food. Toddlers begin to manage this with some support from staff, and older children are able to do this on their own. This helps children to develop their independence skills.
• Staff observe children's progress to identify what they need to learn next. For instance, when staff recognise that children need support to regulate their behaviour, they teach children about different emotions. This helps children to name how they are feeling and to understand how their behaviour may impact on others.
• Leaders and staff act promptly when they have concerns about children's development. This enables them to consider how they can support children to keep up with their peers. They make referrals to the appropriate agencies in a timely manner. This ensures that children receive the support they need to promote their ongoing progress.
• Staff plan activities based on children's interests. They build on these activities to support children in different areas of learning. For instance, they provide opportunities for children to explore ingredients and equipment during a cooking activity. This promotes their understanding of the world. However, at times, children do not fully engage when staff speak only in Spanish. This means that, on occasion, staff do not ensure that activities engage children's interest and attention.
• Parents speak highly of the nursery. They appreciate the multilingual ethos of the setting, which helps to promote children's awareness of other cultures. Parents say that their children are progressing well and that they are kept informed of their development. Staff share information about what children have been learning at nursery and suggest ways they can build on this at home. This promotes children's continued development.
• Staff gather information from parents, such as before a child starts or at the beginning of the day. However, on occasion, staff do not relay messages from parents to the child's key person. This means that, at times, staff are not always able to meet children's needs, such as giving children a nap when they get unsettled, as they are not fully aware of children's home routines before arriving at the nursery.
• Leaders have successfully woven British values into the curriculum. For instance, children are asked to 'vote' which of their friends they would like to be the helper. This enables them to experience democracy first hand. Children are also given opportunities to make choices in their learning, which ensures that their voices are heard and responded to by staff.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen activities to ensure they target the individual needs of children more precisely and support them to fully engage in their learning
• encourage more effective communication sharing between staff about children's needs for the day to enable these to be met effectively.