Shining Little Stars Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their time in the nursery. They choose whether they play and learn indoors or outside and freely access a broad range of resources that reflect their interests. Overall, children demonstrate positive attitudes to learning and make good progress from their starting points. They settle quickly because the move into the nursery is carefully planned by key persons in partnership with parents.

Children spend time building relationships with people in the community. They travel by bus, visit a local café, and find out how to post a letter. Children learn about the natural world when they explore a wildlife garden and pond at the local allotments. They visit the nearby care home where they sing songs and enjoy craft activities with the elderly residents.

Children enjoy a healthy, nutritious diet and freshly cooked meals. They learn why exercise and dental health is important. Children learn to use bicycles, balance, climb and slide safely using equipment in the nursery garden. Children's independence in self-care is promoted ready for the move to school.

Children understand the expectations for their behaviour because they have clear, age-appropriate guidance from staff. They begin to understand their emotions and the impact their behaviour has on others. Children learn to be kind and play cooperatively from a young age. This helps them to build secure friendships with their peers.

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

• Staff have an in-depth understanding of their community and the families who use the nursery. They successfully promote strong partnerships with parents, the community, and schools to keep children safe and promote their good progress. Managers are proactive in seeking support for families who are facing difficulties. Where gaps in children's development are identified, they seek help from other professionals to ensure these children catch up quickly. Managers use additional funding well to build on children's learning experiences and give the most disadvantaged children the best opportunities to succeed.
• Staff implement an ambitious curriculum that is designed to build on what children already know and can do. The environment is planned to enable children to make choices about their play and lead their learning. Children who are established and confident in the nursery engage well, show curiosity and high levels of concentration. However, some of the newest children need more support in how to play and navigate this learning environment. At times, they wander with little focus for their play. With more support they may make better progress from the start.
• Staff promote mathematics throughout children's play. The youngest children start to count 'ready, steady, go' when they go down a slide. They make shapes using brushes and water. Older children count to higher numbers during hide and seek and use scales to weigh ingredients for potions. During construction activities, staff prompt them to think about objects that are highest and lowest.
• In the main, children make rapid progress in communication and language. Staff model language throughout their play and learning. They sing familiar songs to babies and encourage them to babble. During stories, staff use lots of expressions to convey meaning, use intonation and demonstrate rhyming language. Staff encourage children to share their knowledge and ideas through discussions during imaginative play. However, there are not enough opportunities for children to use and develop their home languages in their play and learning.
• Staff are skilled in helping children make connections to extend their learning. For example, children explore cause and effect when they pour water through a funnel to make shapes spin. Staff remind them how they watched the propellors spin on the helicopter they saw in the morning. They show them how to spin a hula hoop. During stories, staff make links to children's real-life experiences, such using a pedestrian crossing during a walk to the park.
• Managers seek the views of parents, staff, and children to drive change and improvement. Managers are aware of the pressures on staff and fully promote their wellbeing. They frequently share positive feedback from parents with staff. Managers provide a programme of targeted training that supports staff to continually develop their skills and knowledge.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide more opportunities for children to develop and use their home language in play and learning, supporting their language development at home
• consider the learning environment for the newest children and ensure they always have the extra support they need to promote their play and focus on learning.