Little Smarties Academy

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide children and parents with a warm welcome to the nursery. Children form close bonds with the staff who are nurturing and attentive to their needs. Children and babies show that they feel happy and safe with the staff at the nursery. Staff are always ready to offer a cuddle and reassurance when children need it. Babies confidently play and explore. Older children have good social skills.

The manager and staff place a strong emphasis on children making decisions and leading their own play. They have designed the learning environment with a wide range of open-ended resources that allow children to decide how they will use them. Pre-school children access props that represent characters and key features from books. They create their own story lines. For example, they explain how a whale will swallow objects as it swims in the sea.

All children including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make good progress. Babies access books and know how to handle them. They carefully turn the pages, lift flaps and respond to the images. They understand that on the last page of the book is a mirror where they can see themselves. Two-year-old children sit sensibly on the carpet while they eat their snack.

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

• The manager shows strong leadership and strives to continually improve the nursery. She has focused well on working with parents to invite them back into the nursery following the COVID-19 pandemic. She has plans to develop the outdoor provision for children to extend their understanding of the world.
• Staff feel well supported in their roles and the manager cares for their well-being. The manager provides staff with ongoing supervision and many opportunities to continue their professional development. Recent training has helped staff to extend their skills in supporting children with SEND and for children's outdoor learning.
• The manager and staff have implemented a progressive curriculum. Staff teaching successfully supports children to gain knowledge and skills over time that prepares them well for school. They have designed the learning environment very well to reflect this, particularly for children's physical development. The manager monitors staff practice. However, this is not as precise as possible to identify where staff need further support in their planning and teaching to provide children with the best possible learning experiences.
• Overall, staff support children's independence well. Pre-school children pour their own drinks and manage their personal care routines. However, staff do not provide babies and two-year-old children with consistent messages to fully support them to manage everyday tasks for themselves. At times, they rush some parts of the daily routines and do not give children the opportunity to try tasks for themselves.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works well in partnership with staff, parents and outside agencies to ensure that children with SEND receive the support they need. She has worked with staff to develop a consistent approach to supporting children with language delay.
• Staff have a secure knowledge of the children in their key groups. They use their knowledge of children's hobbies and experiences at home to engage them in conversations. Pre-school children talk about their fishing experiences and model how to use a fishing reel. They demonstrate the moves they have learned at gymnastics. Staff value children's voice and listen attentively to them.
• Staff are positive role models and provide children with clear guidance for their behaviour. Two-year-old children learn about the range of feelings they have and staff support them to manage their emotions. Staff teach pre-school children how to keep themselves and others safe. Children learn that they must carry chairs with the legs down so they don't hurt anyone.
• Parent partnership working is strong. The manager and staff work closely with parents to keep them informed about their child's progress and the plans for their learning. Parents are very pleased with the service provided and how their children enjoy attending.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend the monitoring of staffs planning and teaching to provide further support, so that their teaching is matched precisely to children's learning needs
• provide the younger children with consistent messages about the expectations so that they are fully supported to complete everyday tasks for themselves.