Little Stars Day Nursery @ The Lodge

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this nurturing setting. They respond positively as staff welcome them warmly. A secure routine helps children develop a sense of connection and belonging, which means they are eager to explore the learning opportunities on offer. Staff work closely with parents to gather information about children's lives outside the nursery. They use this information to provide a strong continuity of care for children. Children delight in spending time outdoors. They are thrilled to discover new equipment that has been delivered. Older children confidently open and close the doors of the new playhouse and invite their friends in. Babies develop as independent learners as they explore the learning environment and transport resources to use in their play. They confidently make choices about how they spend their time. Babies are keen to engage in simple role play as they feed the dolls and cover them with blankets.

Staff have high expectations of all children, and, in turn, children display consistently positive behaviour. They learn some simple strategies for taking turns, which helps them to play cooperatively with their friends. Staff model respectful behaviour with the children and with each other. This helps children understand the staff's expectations of them. Children start to learn about their emotions and understand the emotions of others with support from staff. They gain the skills and knowledge that prepare them for the next stage of their education.

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

• Leaders provide staff support to develop their professional knowledge and extend their understanding of how children learn. They have developed an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum that underpins the planning and implementation of interesting experiences for children. The staff's skilful teaching of this curriculum supports all children to make good progress.
• Leaders have a clear vision for the nursery. They communicate this effectively to staff. Staff report high levels of well-being. They receive excellent support from leaders, which contributes to them feeling valued. Leaders ensure that robust monitoring contributes to a culture of reflection. This helps to drive improvement consistently.
• Children benefit from a range of physical experiences. Staff encourage children to take risks safely and challenge themselves as they develop strength and agility. Younger children demonstrate a growing confidence in climbing and balancing. They learn to use steps and ramps to extend their abilities. Children show excitement as they gather speed and run down the ramp into the waiting arms of staff.
• Children consistently display positive behaviour. Staff use effective strategies to support them to take turns and share resources. Staff offer simple explanations to children. They ensure that the children understand what is expected of them. For example, staff engage children in using sand timers for turn-taking. They use a 'now and next' board to support children's understanding of the daily routine. This contributes to children's feelings of safety and security.
• Staff skilfully use books, props and puppets to extend children's understanding of stories. They provide opportunities for children to explore and play with dough. Staff model pulling, rolling and squeezing the dough, which helps to develop the small muscles in children's hands. Together, these opportunities support the development of early literacy skills.
• Staff support children to become independent learners and encourage them to carry out tasks for themselves. For example, older children get involved in serving their food and pouring drinks, while younger children use flannels to wash their hands and faces. All children are supported to use cutlery appropriately from an early age. This helps them to develop important life skills.
• The highly effective key-person system supports the emotional needs of babies. Staff ensure that respectful and nurturing care routines provide babies with high-quality interactions. They consistently support babies to explore and try new foods. Staff provide a range of experiences for babies to learn using their senses. For example, babies delight in using their hands to crunch and scoop cereal.
• Overall, the staff support children's communication development well. They consistently use simple sign language to enable all children to communicate their wishes and feelings. Staff observe children's non-verbal communication and respond positively. For example, when children point or gesture to a toy they would like to explore, staff lift them up to reach for it. However, at times, staff ask closed questions of children without allowing sufficient time for them to think and respond. This does not fully support children's speaking skills.
• Parents are delighted with the nurturing relationships that staff develop with their children. They are happy that children are safe and secure in the care of this friendly staff team. Parents praise leaders highly for their welcoming and professional approach.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to provide children with the time they need to think and respond to questions.