Small Explorers Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff have developed close bonds with children and provide nurturing care. As a result, children are supported to separate confidently from their parents on arrival at the setting. Older children find their names from the board to self-register, which supports their early reading skills. They confidently tell the inspector about what they like about the setting, such as making new friends and dressing up. Younger children are keen to explore their surroundings. Staff provide a calm environment where children are supported to make choices and develop their independence. Subsequently, children show that they are happy and secure in the setting.

The manager and the staff work hard to build strong relationships with parents and people in their community, which considerably supports children's educational experiences. Staff plan the curriculum effectively with a good variety of indoor and outdoor learning experiences, which help children to make good progress in their learning. Staff teach children to understand the natural environment, such as the process of planting and growing and life cycles. Parents are welcomed into the setting and have supported children with gardening projects. Children excitedly recall activities and are keen to identify which flowers they have planted. Staff organise the routines so that children know what to expect and support them to understand behavioural expectations.

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

• The manager is a good role model for staff and evaluates the quality of the provision effectively. She knows where targeted support is required to promote continuous improvements. Leaders ensure that staff are well supported in their roles and provide good levels of coaching and guidance. Staff have regular training opportunities to develop their skills. Recent training on supporting healthy eating and use of sign language has a positive impact on children's health and communication.
• Staff are very committed to supporting children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff swiftly identify where children may need extra support and engage promptly with parents to ensure that children are referred to appropriate agencies for assessment. Staff work with parents to provide targeted supported to help children make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff are sensitive to the needs of children. They recognise when children may require a space to calm down, such as to explore the sensory tent. They talk to children about their emotions and support them to express their feelings and ideas. Children are often able to adapt their behaviour after staff provide gentle reminders.
• Staff focus on increasing children's language and communication skills. Older children have interesting discussions with staff about Diwali celebrations. They learn new words such as 'consistency' when making salt dough candle holders and explore the meaning of this word. Staff enthusiastically engage with younger children during role play and talk to children about baking. Although staff consistently engage with children to develop important communication skills, they do not make best use of opportunities to include children's home languages in everyday routines.
• Children particularly like sensory play. Older children are fascinated as they use large syringes in the water tray. They talk about making 'fire tornados' as they squirt the water out. Younger children confidently explore the mud tray. They enjoy exploring the texture as they scoop up the mud with their hands and fill pots. As a result, children have a positive attitude to learning and cooperate with their friends.
• Parents comment positively about the staff and the setting. They have seen children make good progress in their learning and, particularly, value the support they receive from staff. Parents like receiving information on the nursery app about their children's development and achievements. Leaders use additional funding well to ensure that all children have a good variety of appropriate learning experiences.
• Children enjoy listening to familiar stories and anticipate what is going to happen next by looking at the pictures. Staff have recently re-introduced a book lending library, where children can choose a book to share at home. This supports parents to develop children's love for stories and maintain good connections between home and the setting.
• Although staff organise the environment to support children's learning, parts of the premises do not present as particularly welcoming. For example, the window sills are in poor condition and some paintwork is quite grubby. At times, the temperature within the building is quite cold, which can affect children's ability to focus on play, as they are not always warm enough.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend opportunities for children who speak English as an additional language to hear and use their own languages to help support their communication and language skills further
• improve the presentation of the premises to ensure that all areas are sufficiently clean and ensure that a comfortable temperature is maintained so that children do not become too cold.