The Little School by the Lake

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children eagerly come, and staff support children as they settle quickly into activities. Staff support children's behaviour well. Children are polite, well mannered and behave well overall. Staff teach children independence skills through everyday routines, such as how to change their shoes ready to go outside.

Children learn about the world around them through activities that staff plan, such as raising chicks. Children confidently share that the chicks have come out of the eggs and will get bigger and be chickens. Children show care for the chicks as they gently stroke them. Staff encourage children to think about their hand hygiene as children remember they have to wash their hands afterwards as they might have germs from the chicks on them.

Children learn to work together as they hunt for objects in the garden. Staff skilfully scaffold their learning as children work together to put the objects in the correct number order up to ten. Staff encourage children to be curious and to have a go. For example, babies explore water by pushing boats down water tray pipes and splashing. Staff sing nursery rhymes frequently with children to support their communication development. Children, including the youngest, enjoy joining in with the different rhymes and songs.

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

• Staff have created an ambitious curriculum that is sequenced throughout the nursery. There is a strong focus on communication and language skills as well as children's personal, social and emotional development. Leaders ensure that staff understand and implement the curriculum well across the different age groups. This helps children make good progress in their learning and development.
• Staff know the children well and are able to adapt activities to ensure each child is able to participate and be fully involved. For example, staff skilfully change their teaching style during an activity with cards to engage quieter children and get them involved, as well as engaging more talkative children.
• Children learn to keep themselves safe. For example, staff involve pre-school children in completing a risk assessment of the garden before going out to play. Children are confident in identifying potential risks as well as understanding the rationale for the rules of the garden, such as knowing that the climbing tree will be slippery if it has rained.
• Staff support children's communication skills in a range of ways. For example, they label objects clearly to build up younger children's vocabulary. They also expand older children's vocabulary further as they introduce new words, such as 'uprooted' while talking about fallen trees. However, at times, there are some inconsistencies in the support for children's language skills. For example, at times, staff do not give children enough time to respond to questions before another is asked. This does not consistently encourage children's language and thinking skills.
• Overall, children behave well. However, at times, staff leave children waiting for a long time and this impacts on their behaviour. For example, during periods within the daily routine, such as changing the group activity, children become fidgety and distracted. Staff do not consistently consider how to support and encourage good behaviour at these times.
• Staff support children who speak English as an additional language well. They ensure they include children's home languages where possible. For example, staff use talking books to help children hear words in their home languages. Parents share common words in children's home languages with staff to enable staff to use familiar words with children, which helps them settle.
• Leaders ensure that additional funding is used appropriately. Staff quickly identify any gaps in learning and development and then promptly place strategies in place to provide support. For example, they have purchased stories and puppets to promote children's personal, social and emotional development after identifying that children needed support in recognising and labelling their own emotions.
• Parent partnerships are strong. Parents speak highly of the staff. They note that staff are quick to help when there might be an additional learning need, such as support with speech and language and to make the appropriate referrals. Effective communication between parents and staff means that they are regularly kept informed of their child's progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• refine routines to better support children's good behaviour at times of transition
• strengthen the consistency of staff's support for children's early language and thinking skills during conversations.