Little Tots Nurseries Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children have a wonderful time at the nursery and are very happy and settled. They are extremely well behaved and engage with ease in activities. Staff are enthusiastic and caring. They plan for children's individual needs exceedingly well. Support for babies to develop their physical skills is superbly met. For example, babies easily access resources to help them stand and walk unaided. Older children run, climb, and chase each other in the rain. They have immense fun as they splash in puddles and whizz down the wet slide.

Children demonstrate excellent manners in their interactions with their friends, staff, and visitors. They are kind and considerate to each other. Staff are exceptionally positive role models, who set an excellent example to the children in their care.

All children thrive because staff have very high expectations of what they can achieve. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who speak English as an additional language make excellent progress in relation to their individual starting points. Parents comment on how well their children are developing their understanding of the English language. This means that all children are superbly prepared for their next stage of learning, including their eventual move to school.

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

• The manager is inspirational in her dedication to supporting her staff team. She prioritises their well-being and professional development. Senior staff mentor and invest their efforts in supporting less experienced staff to grow and learn in their roles. Staff undertake an extensive range of high-quality training that impacts on improvements in the setting. For instance, following the implementation of language groups and language books, children are building their ability to communicate in English. Staff learn key words for children who speak English as an additional language and use these superbly during children's play. This ensures that all children feel welcome and understood.
• The manager and staff have created an ambitious curriculum, which is securely embedded across the nursery. They have a firm vision of what they want children to learn and why. Staff are confident and knowledgeable in the curriculum and the signs of successful learning. Children's learning experiences build their knowledge over time.
• Leaders and staff consistently evaluate their practice and provision to ensure the best possible outcomes for children. They use highly effective supervision to set targets to continually develop staff practice. Consequently, staff are equipped with excellent skills and have a remarkable understanding of how children learn and develop.
• Children's understanding of the world around them is superb. Children have vast and varied opportunities to learn about nature, including identifying birds, plants, and animals. Trips to the setting's 'Forest School' site fully ignite the children's imagination and curiosity. Children excitedly tell the inspector, 'Look, I have found a wood anemone.' They identify different animal prints in the pathway, such as a deer print and a horse's hoof. Staff expertly widen children's growing knowledge and interest. For example, they access online videos to show children how a horse has shoes fitted to its hooves by a blacksmith.
• There is a strong focus on communication and language. Staff use every opportunity to sing and share books with the children. Toddlers sing rhymes to build an understanding of counting and naming parts of the body. Older children use sentences and can recall prior learning. For example, following a threading activity, when asked what they have learned, children say they have learned to tie a knot and to thread.
• Partnerships with parents are especially strong. Staff fully encourage parental involvement in the nursery. They discuss children's starting points and learning needs in detail at every stage in their transition through the nursery.
• The manager cares deeply about promoting well-being and mental health. Staff provide children with relaxing spaces, where they can practise yoga and mindfulness techniques and unwind, listening to calming music. This helps children to self-regulate and feel rested, so that they can fully concentrate and engage with their learning.