Littleton Minors

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children receive a warm welcome from the friendly and caring staff. They form emotional attachments with their key person, which helps children to feel safe and secure. Children learn to share and take turns, and are respectful to each other and staff. They receive an abundance of praise and encouragement for their achievements, which helps to boost their self-esteem. Children confidently make independent choices on the direction of their play and are enthusiastic to learn. They engage in adult-led activities and child-initiated play experiences and make good progress from their starting points. Children are familiar with the routines of the nursery and anticipate what will happen next. For example, they excitedly sit on the carpet and wait for story time to begin. Staff sing familiar nursery rhymes and read stories with good intonation.

Children enjoy playing outside in the garden. They have lots of space to run around and develop their large physical skills. Children have opportunities to learn about the natural world as they search for insects in the garden using magnifying glasses. They eagerly show staff the spider they have found, which sparks conversations about how to carefully hold and take care of living creatures. Children learn about where they live and the world around them. They enjoy going on walks in the local community and learn about road safety. Children take part in some celebrations throughout the year, such as Christmas and Diwali. They are encouraged to recognise and respect differences between themselves and others.

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

• The management team is dedicated and passionate about providing children with the best possible start. They devise a broad and sequenced curriculum which reflects children's interests. Staff are swift to identify any delays in children's learning and development. They are proactive in seeking professional intervention if needed to ensure that no child gets left behind.
• The management team has developed links with teachers from the local schools that children are due to attend. They share key information which helps to support continuity in children's care and learning and aid smooth transitions.
• Staff benefit from regular supervisions and team meetings. They are encouraged in their professional development and have opportunities to reflect on their practice and identify areas for further improvement. Staff speak highly of the management team and comment that they love their jobs.
• The management team and staff have established positive relationships with parents. Staff communicate daily with parents and keep them well informed on the progress their children make. During the national lockdowns, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, management kept in touch with parents and provided resources to help them support their children's learning and development at home.
• Staff know the children well and can confidently talk about their individual personalities. They thoughtfully arrange the environment and activities that capture children's curiosity. However, some staff do not always understand the ways children explore and learn. For example, some staff discourage children from rolling toy cars in the sand tray.
• Children have opportunities to make marks and be creative. They enjoy using their imagination as they pretend to have a picnic with their friends. They make and serve 'cups of tea' for staff and explore the different toy foods. Staff introduce new words, such as 'aubergine', which helps to broaden children's growing vocabulary.
• Children develop good communication and language skills. Staff engage them in meaningful conversations and offer a narrative as they play. However, staff do not consistently use skilful questioning techniques to challenge children's critical thinking and encourage them to problem-solve. For example, children enjoy pouring sand into a funnel and watch as they make the wheel go round. When the wheel stops turning, staff are quick to explain that it is because the sand has run out.
• Children have fun exploring the texture of play dough. They roll, squash and manipulate the dough, which helps to strengthen the small muscles in their hands in readiness for early writing. Staff introduce counting and mathematical language, such as 'big' and 'small', as children use different-sized cutters to make shapes out of the dough.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on staff's knowledge and understanding of how children learn through exploration and investigation
• support staff to develop effective questioning techniques, to provide children with opportunities to problem-solve to extend their learning to the highest level.