Little Stars Nursery

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders monitor children's progress rigorously. They identify emerging needs swiftly and support all children to achieve, including children who are disadvantaged or with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff know all children well. Leaders are fully aware of children's next steps in learning and target teaching to best promote progress. They know characters and interests and are quick to recognise and respond when children's needs change. Children with barriers to learning benefit from frequent interactions as they play. Staff interactions are sensitive and best support each child to thrive. For example, babies thoroughly enjoy listening to stories. Staff encourage older babies to sit down and look at the pictures as she reads, while supporting younger babies eager to stand, to do so. Staff adapt their positioning to meet all children's needs and best promote progress.

Leaders seek early help guidance swiftly and children receive the right support at the right time, and needs are best met. Staff reduce barriers to learning effectively and promote children's engagement. For example, as children engage in activities led by staff, they guide children to join in with the activity that best supports their next steps in learning. When children choose the other activity, staff simply adapt their questioning and support for those children, so learning and development is still impactful and meets children's needs. Staff know that promoting positive behaviours for learning and children's inquisitiveness is powerful. Children focus and engage well as they learn and staff adapt teaching superbly. This inclusive practice supports all children, regardless of barriers to learning, to feel a real sense of belonging. Leaders deploy staff well to use their expertise to create positive learning experiences for all children and prepare them well for their next stage in learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders create a curriculum that is ambitious and aspirational. Monitoring of progress is consistent and robust. Teaching and learning activities are matched very well to children's individual needs and support achievement for all. Staff know children exceedingly well and their interactions build consistently on what children already know and can do. Children have opportunity to practise new skills to build confidence and ability. For example, babies practise control, balance and coordination as they climb steps on the slide repeatedly.

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing, enjoy learning experiences that are well sequenced, engaging and challenging. Activities help children develop their understanding of society and people who help us. They learn contact details for emergency services and excite as they take on roles of builders, doctors and fire fighters. Children experience high-quality teaching that builds their abilities to work well with others, build perseverance and succeed. This prepares children well for future learning.

Leaders superbly support children's communication and language skills. Staff interactions are frequent and promote progress. Staff model new vocabulary well. For example, staff read a story about visiting the doctor. Children learn about medical equipment doctors use. Staff show children a stethoscope and children consider its purpose. Children declare 'it's a stethoscope'. Staff praise their knowledge, and model the word stethoscope clearly and slowly.

Staff support children to develop knowledge of early mathematical concepts, such as shape and number. For example, children enjoy being postal delivery people as they learn about people who help them. Staff revise shape names with children and children show such focus as they post shapes in the corresponding post box. Staff continuously promote children's personal, social and emotional development. Children share and take turns well. Staff praise their kindness and consideration.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing, make excellent progress across all areas of the curriculum. Babies show they feel safe and secure and have strong bonds with staff. Young children demonstrate curiosity, perseverance and excitement at new learning experiences, such as moving as different animals. Children stretch necks up as giraffes and wave their arms as they travel like eagles.

Older children show resilience when they need to solve problems and be resilient. For example, children show pride being fire fighters, squirting chalk fire flames on the floor with water. Children who find squeezing the trigger of the bottle tricky are supported by staff, who model how to make the water come out of the bottle. They repeat and reinforce their instructions, 'squeeze here with your finger'. Children practise and exclaim in delight 'I did it. It worked' as the flames are doused. Children refine their fine motor control and feel a strong sense of achievement when they see their efforts work.

Children's early literacy skills bloom. Babies enjoy independently looking at board books, lifting tabs and turning pages. Older children experience frequent story times, where they listen to carefully selected books that staff choose to broaden their vocabulary. Children develop skills and knowledge that prepare them well for future learning.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders establish a positive learning environment, where staff develop strong bonds with children in their care. These relationships help all children to thrive. Leaders and staff model respectful relationships as they help each other and treat one another with consideration. Children follow their example well as they share and take turns with each other readily.

Leaders and staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and attitudes to learning. Children meet these well. Staff interactions consistently promote a respectful, and calm yet bustling environment. Staff manage transitions well and children show focus as they prepare for outside play or tidy for group time. Leaders promote children's attendance and speak with parents regularly, highlighting the importance and impact of attending.

Children show behaviour far beyond that expected for their age and stage, they are happy, engaged and confident. Children thoroughly enjoy being at nursery and clearly feel a strong sense of belonging as they play and learn happily together. Babies experience daily routines that develop their confidence attending. They know story time precedes lunch and nap time follows. Babies settle quickly and engage happily in activities of their choosing. Babies develop whole hand grasp and control as they enjoy banging drums and hearing sounds created.

Older children play collaboratively. They consider their friends' feelings and are respectful and kind. Staff help children recognise and manage their feelings and those of others. They speak kindly with children and validate their feelings, when they feel frustrated or anxious. When children's characters are not typical and they are quieter than usual, staff offer cuddles and comfort and provide assurance that all is well.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders promote children's welfare and wellbeing and care practices meet children's individual needs. Leaders provide a safe, welcoming and nurturing environment for all children. Disadvantaged children, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, children known (or previously known) to children's social care and those that face barriers to learning and/or wellbeing are superbly supported and receive frequent interactions that promote confidence and security and enable them to thrive. Children form relationships with their key person that are respectful and responsive and help build children's happiness and confidence. For example, staff support children who are shy to play alongside friends and lead conversations that encourage children to speak with each other.

Leaders establish routines that best support children to develop daily habits that promote health. Older children wash their hands, learn to use the toilet independently and wash their hands thoroughly. Babies experience sleep routines that are well established and promote quality restful, restorative nap times.

Leaders provide mealtimes that are social. Children of all ages eat together. Staff sit with them and chat. Children thoroughly enjoy this and talk excitedly to both staff and their friends about pets they have at home, new babies in their houses and games they like to play with their families. Staff monitor children well as they eat. They promote independence as they encourage babies to feed themselves. They support older children's independence as children ask for help to open their yoghurt. Staff ask them to try themselves. They do but still need help. Staff praise their perseverance and further promote independence as they help a little. Children succeed and open the container, beaming with pride.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders provide consistently high-quality care and learning experiences for children. They recognise strengths in their practise and use feedback from daily discussions with staff and parental feedback to identify areas for development. For example, leaders are prioritising further developing the outdoor environment to further enhance children's learning opportunities and experiences. Leaders make decisions in the best interests of children and families. For example, they have purposefully grown their setting slowly, as they prioritise maintaining a family home-from-home provision. Parents and carers value and appreciate this.

Staff wellbeing is high. They feel leaders 'support them well' and are swift to respond to challenges. Leaders consistently promote the expertise of staff members to promote the progress of all children attending. Leaders provide targeted training to support staff to fulfil their roles and responsibilities well, with confidence and enthusiasm. For example, staff complete training on promoting positive behaviours and show consistency in their approach with children. Staff induction is supportive, and ongoing professional development strengthens teaching and helps all children achieve.

Leaders build effective working relationships with parents, that best support learning and development of all children. Staff provide guidance to parents on how to promote progress at home. They share their strategies for promoting restful sleep routines and daily habits to aid success in toilet training. Parents value leaders warm, attentive and responsive approach. They feel leaders support the whole family unit and this helps all children thrive.