Little Smarties

Inclusion: Strong standard

A strength of the nursery is the support it gives to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and others who face disadvantage. Leaders are extremely proactive in their efforts to ensure that they do all that they can to help remove barriers to children's learning. Leaders understand the barriers that children face, and they are persistent in their quest to get every child the individualised support that they need.

Leaders and staff quickly identify when children require additional support and have gaps in their learning and development. A graduated approach is applied effectively, and timely referrals are made to other agencies when required. Staff put effective personalised plans in place to support children. For example, they ensure that children have the interventions they need to make the most progress and that the staff team attend any additional training they may need. Plans are vigorously monitored to ensure that they always remain relevant. They work closely with parents and carers and a range of professionals from other agencies, such as occupational therapists and social workers. This ensures that children receive a consistent approach at home and in the nursery. Additional funding is used very well. For example, leaders purchase specialist resources to meet the personal, social and emotional needs of children with SEND and use it to offer more one-to-one support at key times of the day.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders and staff provide an ambitious and well-structured curriculum. Staff are responsive to the interests of the children and enrich the curriculum with a wide range of real-life experiences. For example, through purposeful trips into the local community and through the use of real objects in their play. Staff consider ways to incorporate the use of as many senses as possible. For instance, they learn about how the colour of water can change, experiment with capacity and quantity in water play and use the scented liquid from the juice of fruits. This hands on and sensory based approach works well to increase children's curiosity and deepens children's understanding of concepts through play.

Staff consistently extend children's language as they model new vocabulary, ask thought-provoking questions and engage them in conversation. Mathematics is taught effectively. For example, number, shape and colour are woven into activities naturally. Physical development is prioritised. Both indoors and outdoors, children have vast opportunities to practise their developing motor skills.

Staff adapt their teaching effectively to enable all children to participate, such as through removing any physical barriers in the environment, adjusting the language used and providing additional resources, such as 'fiddle toys'. Staff use assessment effectively to tailor teaching to what children need. This ensures that all children who face barriers, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, access the full curriculum.

Achievement: Strong standard

Inclusive practice ensures that all children who face barriers to learning and/or with special educational needs and/or disabilities have the same quality experiences. Children benefit from the expertly sequenced approach to learning. This helps children learn skills over time and continually build on what they already know and can do. As a result, children develop the skills they need for their future learning and are very well prepared for starting school. Children achieve in all areas of learning, and parents report on significant improvements in speech and independence since joining the nursery.

Children are creative in their play and keen to take part in activities with staff. For example, children use leafy herbs to represent trees and plant them in groups in mounds of sand. Children participate in a wide range of high-quality interactions with staff, which contributes to them being confident and successful learners. Children learn to work together. For instance, pre-school children model to their peers how to plant seeds correctly so that they will grow.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Staff have developed impactful teaching in regard to helping children understand how to express themselves and regulate their feelings and emotions. They have a consistent, calm, respectful approach, and clear boundaries and expectations help children understand and follow routines. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They promote skills such as taking turns and sharing from a young age. When routines change, staff use visual aids and cues to help prepare children, such as singing a 'washing hands' song and 'now and next' picture boards.

Staff build strong attachments with their key children. They plan individualised settling-in processes and have specific strategies to use for supporting the emotional needs of individuals. Staff's impactful teaching means children develop a motivation to learn and have positive attitudes. For example, staff's enthusiastic and engaging manner with toddlers during outdoor play results in children showing sustained interest, enjoyment and involvement as they explore nature and play imaginatively with real vegetables in the mud kitchen.

Staff understand the value in helping children to develop effective independence and self-care skills. From a young age, children wash their own hands and feed themselves using cutlery. Social opportunities outside of the nursery are vast, including trips to the shops for fresh produce and story and rhyme sessions at the library.

Attendance is monitored closely by leaders, and support is given to families that need it. This ensures that children develop positive and healthy habits for the future.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Care practices across the nursery are highly effective in meeting children's individual needs. Staff know the children extremely well. They pick up on their cues and ensure that they work in partnership with parents and carers to offer a continuity of care. Parents comment on the caring and sensitive approach from staff. For example, when babies are unsettled, staff invite parents to spend more time in the room to help babies gain positive experiences at nursery. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are known to social care receive personalised care that reflects their ever-changing needs. Sleep and feeding routines are responsive to children's rhythms, and children confidently express their needs effectively. As children transition through the nursery, they are encouraged to develop independence in their self-care. For instance, dressing themselves for outdoor play.

Physical development is prioritised through regular outdoor play in the different gardens across the nursery. Planned activities indoors also build children's coordination and strength. For example, they climb ramps and slide down slides. Children learn about safety on their walks in the local community. They get plenty of exercise, and staff teach them about healthy lifestyles and ensure that they get plenty of fresh air in all weathers. They recognise the value of this on children's physical and mental health.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders are extremely committed to providing high-quality care and education. The staff team works very well together. Leaders and staff have a reflective approach that results in improvement being made continually to meet children's ever-changing needs. Leaders support and lead their staff team well, supporting staff to gain higher qualifications and develop expertise in areas that they are passionate about or particularly skilled in. Staff feel highly valued by leaders. Staff morale is high, and this creates a positive environment for children.

Partnerships with parents and carers are secure. Parents comment that they are kept extremely well informed, and leaders and staff maintain a constant two-way flow of information. Leaders are highly effective in the family support they offer parents and carers, particularly those most deprived and those who face barriers, including those known to social care. Leaders have high expectations for the staff and strive for excellence. This means that they continually reduce barriers in children's learning.

Leaders and staff work collaboratively with outside agencies and other professionals involved in children's lives. Staff are keen to continue to build on their skills and knowledge, and leaders seek out relevant training to ensure that all staff have the knowledge and understanding they need to meet children's specific needs. Leaders ensure that the nursery maintains a sharp focus on inclusion and wellbeing.