The Little Big Nursery At St. Dominic's

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children and parents receive a friendly welcome as they arrive at the nursery. Children happily separate from their parents and are eager to start their day. They greet their friends and staff and follow the routines of the nursery. Children are very enthusiastic and motivated to learn and make good progress from their starting points. Children learn through an effective balance of enjoyable adult-led activities and child-initiated play. They concentrate and become deeply engaged in their chosen activity for long periods of time. Children's behaviour is excellent. From a young age, they learn to express themselves and understand how to manage their feelings and behaviours. For example, toddlers look at faces to help them recognise expressions and are encouraged to talk about their emotions and consider the feelings of others. Children learn to be friendly, calm, polite and respectful.

Children are encouraged to develop a love of books. They independently choose books and snuggle up to staff so they can look at them together. Children readily engage in circle time, where they enjoy singing familiar songs, which helps to support their early literacy skills. Children develop an awareness of other cultures and learn to respect and understand the diverse world in which they live.

All children are happy and settled. They develop secure and trusting bonds with staff and their key person. Babies and toddlers receive lots of cuddles and reassurance from the kind and caring staff. Children happily welcome encouragement and praise for their achievements, which helps to boost their self-esteem and self-confidence. Staff are professional and excellent role models.

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

• The manager and the director are ambitious and exceptionally hard-working. They have a clear vision for the nursery and empower staff to take ownership for providing high-quality practice. Staff feel valued and thoroughly enjoy working at the nursery. The manager supports staff's professional development and well-being. Staff receive regular supervisions and are supported to continually develop their practice.
• Staff gather key information about children's individual needs and their existing skills and abilities before they start at the nursery. This helps staff to provide continuity in their care and helps children to settle quickly. Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff promote daily communication with parents and keep them informed on the progress their children make, both verbally and via an online application. Parents speak very highly of the nursery. They say that they like the family feel of the nursery and their children love being here.
• Staff plan enjoyable activities based on children's interests and the next steps in their learning. Older children demonstrate good pencil control as they learn to write their name and use scissors correctly. Staff provide babies and toddlers with plenty of sensory opportunities to help them make sense of the world around them. For example, babies have lots of fun crushing a variety of dried cereals with their hands and experiment making sounds as they push toy dinosaurs into the cereals.
• Children enjoy exploring the outdoor area. They enhance their physical development as they enthusiastically navigate climbing apparatus and ride on bikes and tricycles. However, staff do not always offer as many outdoor opportunities to fully build on the development of children who prefer to play and learn outdoors.
• Children develop good independence skills. They understand the routines of the nursery and are keen to help during tidy-up time. For example, children spontaneously use a dustpan and brush to clear away any mess they have made. Staff teach children good hygiene routines, such as regular handwashing. However, on occasions, the routines for handwashing can interrupt children's learning and enjoyment, for example when they are engaged in story time.
• Children's communication and language skills are supported particularly well. Staff engage children in interesting conversations and value what they have to say. They ask children questions as they play alongside them and create opportunities for children to solve problems, predict outcomes and answer questions themselves. Staff speak calmly to babies and introduce new words as they play. Older children are confident and articulate communicators.
• The manager and the director build successful partnerships with the host school and local schools that children are due to attend, to enable smooth transitions for children's future learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• arrange everyday routines of the nursery, such as handwashing, so they do not disrupt children's enjoyment and engagement in learning activities, such as story time
• make the most of the outdoor learning environment to provide children who prefer to learn outside further play and learning opportunities.