My Little Kingdom

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are settled and happy in the nursery. Their well-being is supported. The key-person system is effective, which enables children to develop positive relationships with staff. During the COVID-19 pandemic, staff supported families with home learning and activities. They provided children with seeds to grow flowers. When the nursery reopened, all the children brought in the flowers they had grown. Staff have good knowledge to support children with their next stage in learning.

Children are confident and eager to play and learn. They actively choose where they want to play and are encouraged to be independent. Children are confident to serve themselves at mealtimes and pass the food to each other to self-serve. Outdoors, they explore an exciting, well-resourced environment which challenges their physical skills and supports their understanding of the world. Older children make bird feeders and talk about why the birds need the food in wintertime.

Babies happily explore their environment. Staff interact well with babies as they demonstrate how to use resources in different ways. For example, they show babies how to build with wooden blocks. Children demonstrate excellent behaviour. They take turns in their play and work together, displaying positive attitudes to their play and learning.

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

• The skilled manager has high expectations for the nursery and has a clear vision for the environment and what children need to learn. She has a clear knowledge of the setting and works with leaders and staff to improve the setting.
• Staff carefully consider children's interests and use these to extend children's learning. They are clear about what they want children to learn. Children display high levels of engagement as they explore dough. They confidently choose their own utensils and materials. Children's early mathematical skills are developing well. They name shapes they make together, such as 'Sammy square' and identify shapes when asked by staff. Staff use their knowledge of children's current stages of development to enhance and extend learning through their teaching practice.
• Staff provide many opportunities for children to develop early language. There is a wide variety of books both indoors and outdoors, and children are engaged in singing and action rhymes. Children enjoy listening to stories and join in with staff with familiar words and phrases. Staff model appropriate language and introduce children to new vocabulary, for example new vegetables such as aubergine, when playing a shopping game.
• Children's independence is promoted both indoors and outdoors. They are willing to have a go, but ask staff for support if needed. Staff capably encourage children to take risks. Babies are supported to climb the stairs to go back to nursery after being outside. Older children climb and balance outdoors, clearly enjoying the freedom to explore, and confidently use all of the resources available. For example, they get out their own sand utensils or paints when outside.
• Children have access to a wide range of resources and materials which enable them to be creative and imaginative. For example, they look for treasure using buttons and boxes, and use different utensils to squeeze real fruit to make juice. However, occasionally, the routines of the nursery impact on children's play and engagement. For example, when children wake from sleeping, they do not have access to the plentiful resources on offer due to the organisation of the sleep routines.
• Staff are well supported and have opportunities to access training and extend their learning and professional development. They work together as a team and reflect on what works well in the nursery.
• Parents are highly complimentary about the setting and feel supported by the staff. Staff and parents work together to share experiences and learning from home and nursery. Parents feel that they are kept up to date with their children's learning through weekly galleries and their child's online learning.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. For example, staff use visual aids and children have individual targets to support their learning. There are links in place with professionals.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider the needs of all children during sleep and transition times, so children have wider opportunities to access the resources available.