Little Woodlings Nursery LTD

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are confident, capable learners who have a drive to achieve in this outstanding nursery.

Staff have a clear vision for promoting children's sense of community and to build on their prior experiences. Children's love of books and reading skills are promoted through staff taking children on regular trips to the library van. Children learn how to walk safely to the local community café. They gain mathematical skills, such as the value of money to purchase a nutritious snack while there. Children learn how to behave in public places, which is role modelled by staff. Children learn to sit down when eating and use good manners towards others that they meet.

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

• The curriculum plans are highly ambitious for all children, especially in the context of the negative impact COVID-19 has had on some groups of children who attend the nursery. Staff understand the curriculum intent very well and implement the curriculum through inspirational and excellent teaching. Less-experienced staff receive the support they need to build on their teaching skills rapidly, such as their use of questioning skills. The impact of the curriculum is highly positive for children. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make rapid incremental progress in their development. All other children who have been adversely impacted by COVID-19 reach their expected levels of development to ensure they are prepared for their next stage of development, including starting school.
• The standard of care staff provide to children is excellent, each child is nurtured to be the best they can be. Key persons have a very strong focus on children's personal, social and emotional development, this is the key to children's success across the curriculum, to master new skills overtime.
• The owner is highly successful in her leadership of the nursery. The programme of professional development helps staff to gain the knowledge and skills they need to deliver a successful curriculum. Staff workload is manageable because of the steps taken by the owner to reduce unnecessary written assessment. Staff report their well-being is high because of the regular one-to-one meetings leaders hold with staff to support them.
• The curriculum plans have a strong focus on communication, language and literacy. Staff use the knowledge and skills gained from training to provide daily intervention sessions to boost children's communication and language development. This has a superb impact on children. They learn how to construct simple three-part sentences. Staff model the pronunciation of words subtly for children to hear and use correctly. Teaching is rich and varied to help children develop associated knowledge and skills. This includes recognising numerals and shapes, labelling feelings and using finger and thumb movements to develop small-muscle movements in their hands.
• Staff's partnership working goes above and beyond. Children with SEND benefit from a multi-agency approach to their development. Children who also attend another early years setting, receive a coordinated approach to their learning because staff are proactive in exchanging information about children's development. The close working relationship between the host school staff and nursery staff aids the refinement of the curriculum overtime through evaluating the impact of the curriculum.
• Evaluation leads to ambitious development. The owner and other staff benchmark practice with the providers and staff of other early years settings. This has enabled the staff team to identify ways to enhance the nursery environment. This has successfully accelerated children's imaginative play through the open-ended resources now available to them.