Little Sneakers at Lodge Park

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thoroughly enjoy their time in nursery. Staff greet children warmly, which helps them to settle quickly. Children form close attachments with staff, who ensure they meet children's individual needs throughout the day. Staff know children well and provide experiences that interest them and spark their curiosity. Younger children enjoy playing with the small-world animals. They recognise that a tiger has stripes and a cheetah has spots and enjoy making a roaring sound. Children like listening to stories. Staff are animated as they read to them, which captures children's attention.

Staff are positive role models for children. They treat children with kindness and are quick to recognise when children might need a cuddle and reassurance. Children learn the importance of being kind to one another and to share and take turns. Staff build children's confidence and self-esteem through praise and encouragement. They acknowledge children's efforts and achievements.

Staff support children to develop future skills, such as managing their own personal care. Independence is encouraged from an early age. Children access fresh drinking water throughout the day and learn to feed themselves. They spend lots of time outdoors in the fresh air being physically active. Staff ensure that children sleep safely and regularly monitor them as they sleep. The care of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is good. Staff work in partnership with parents to access additional support their child may need. They work closely with other professionals to ensure that support is sharply focused to help children make the best possible progress.

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

• Managers are very supportive of their team and recognise their skills. Individual supervision sessions help identify professional development opportunities so that staff can continually build their knowledge and skills. Staff well-being is a priority. Communication between managers and staff is good and they are very supportive of each other. Staff share good practice with each other and cascade information from training they have completed to the wider team.
• Staff plan to respond spontaneously to children's interests. For example, following a physical activity, staff seize the opportunity to talk to older children about how their bodies work and what their skeleton and their internal organs look like. They use reference books to show children pictures to help them gain a better understanding. However, the systems for planning are not consistently applied across the nursery and at times activities for younger children lack purpose.
• Parents are very happy with the care provided for their children. They particularly like the time staff take to gather information about children from parents and settle children into nursery. This enables staff to meet their needs effectively. Parents say that communication between nursery and home is good. They receive information through an online app about their child's day and the progress they are making. Parents comment that because their children enjoy being in nursery, they can leave them knowing that they are safe and well cared for.
• Children's dietary needs and preferences are well known by staff. Freshly prepared meals are available each day, or parents have the option to provide a packed lunch for their child. Staff liaise with parents to ensure packed lunches are healthy. Mealtimes are social occasions and children enjoy chatting to staff and each other. However, lunchtime is at times disorganised, and some children wait for some considerable time before being able to sit down and eat.
• Children thoroughly enjoy spending time outside. They carefully lift wooden logs to see if they can find any insects underneath them. Children play football, taking turns to be the goalkeeper while others try to score goals. Staff create assault courses for the children to complete. Children move in and out of plastic cones and climb up and over wooden climbing frames. This helps them to develop their large-muscle skills, balance and coordination.
• Children learn about different cultural events and celebrations throughout the year. They see positive images of families from around the world and people with differing abilities in books and resources. Children are encouraged to talk about their own families and the special people in their lives.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review planning to ensure a consistent approach and understanding across the nursery, with particular focus on the younger children
• consider the organisation of mealtimes to minimise waiting times for children.