Little Wrens Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and show that they feel safe and secure. For example, three- and four-year-old children laugh when they play a chasing game outdoors. They play with their friends and tell them that they have to jump on to a wooden log so they 'don't turn into a person'. Children demonstrate good imaginative skills. They are curious to learn about what they see in the environment. For instance, when four-year-old children look up at a canopy that covers some of the garden, they ask staff if it is glass. Staff stretch children's understanding of the name of different materials and explain that it is 'corrugated plastic'. Children are keen to explore the objects they play with, such as when two-year-old children find a shell. They learn the name of the sea creature it comes from when staff tell them it is a 'crab shell'. Staff explain that you can find crabs on the beach. Children behave well. They share toys with their friends, such as when they take it in turns to roll toy cars down a wooden ramp. Children are kind to others. For example, four-year-old children hand out cutlery to their friends at lunchtime.

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

• Staff make daily routines a positive experience for children. For example, when they change one-year-old children's nappies, they talk to them. Staff say 'one foot, two feet' when they help children to put their legs into trousers. This encourages children to develop an understanding of numbers and counting.
• The manager and provider evaluate the effectiveness of the nursery. This helped them to identify that children had fewer opportunities to be independent at mealtimes. They introduced opportunities for children to serve themselves food and to pour their own drinks. Children complete these tasks on their own and learn skills that will help them when they move on to school.
• Staff know children well. They observe and assess children's abilities and identify what they need to learn next. Staff support children's developing communication and thinking skills. For instance, they ask them a range of questions and give them time to respond. When staff tap the top of an upturned bucket of sand they say 'tap, tap, tap'. This helps one-year-old children to understand words that link to the actions they see.
• Staff are aware that due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, babies and one-year-old children have not had opportunities to socialise with others. This is because children have spent long periods of time at home with parents. Due to this, staff form close attachments with children through the key-person system. For instance, staff find out about children's interests from parents and offer children the same experiences in the nursery. Staff work with parents and gradually increase the amount of time children spend in the nursery when they first start. This helps children to form emotional attachments with staff and to separate from parents confidently.
• Staff give children plenty of praise and a 'high five' when they show positive behaviour. This helps children to learn behavioural expectations in the nursery. Children celebrate their achievements. For instance, when two-year-old children use a fork to eat their lunch, they say 'I did it'.
• Occasionally, during children's play, some staff do not build on what children already know and can do. An example of this is when children use both hands to use scissors. Staff do not show them how to use them in one hand.
• Parents comment positively about their children's experiences in the nursery. They like that children 'get outside every day'. Parents say that children visit the 'chickens' at the nursing home and wave to the residents who live there.
• Staff talk to children about how they can be safe. For instance, when one-year-old children stand on a chair, staff ask them to 'sit on the chair' and explain that they might 'fall and bump their head'.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's ability to recognise when they can build further on what children already know and can do.