Little Dolphins Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and settled in this friendly nursery.

It is clear that children are at the heart of everything that staff do. Children are confident and sociable and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. They gain new skills, make progress and consistently build on their learning.

All children can access the experiences on offer, as staff adapt activities to suit children's individual needs. Staff support children's learning effectively. For instance, when a child starts a new activity, a member of staff will sit with them to model what to do.

This helps children engage in learning for longer periods....The manager knows the setting very well and has clear intentions for what she wants children to learn. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the areas of learning and development and how they implement these.

Babies develop their small and large muscles as they explore the cars and use the swing with enthusiasm. Toddlers develop their fine motor skills and understanding of oral health during play. They squeeze water through bottles and brush the sea creatures' teeth.

Pre-school children begin to develop skills needed for school. They count how often they bounce when using the bouncy balls together with their friends. Children make good progress in their development.

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

Staff are enthusiastic and motivated. They are led by a passionate manager, who is dedicated to the nursery's ongoing development. She evaluates the practice of staff and the quality of the provision.

The manager leads regular supervision and team meetings and monitors staff practice. However, her knowledge of the provision, including staff practice, is not always precise enough to identify all areas of development.Partnerships with parents are strong.

The manager and staff work hard to support good communication with parents. Staff communicate successfully with parents. They use daily chats and messages as well as entries in an online app.

Parents comment that they feel informed about their children's learning and praise the work of the friendly staff team.Staff have high expectations for children and what they can achieve. They are good role models for children, both in their play and their interactions with each other.

For example, staff are helping children to be curious and excited as they explore different textures and sounds. Older children learn about the importance of teamwork when tidying up together with staff.Staff use regular observations and assessments of their key children to plan the curriculum.

These link closely to babies' and children's emerging interests. This helps to provide stimulating learning experiences for each age group. Children form close bonds with their key persons.

This demonstrates how well the staff know the children.All children make good progress, including those who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff act promptly if children have gaps in their learning.

They liaise with other agencies as well as with parents. This provides children with continuity in their learning and promotes children's long-term learning outcomes.The cook prepares fresh and nutritious meals at the setting.

Children are involved in preparing some of their snacks. This helps them learn about safe food preparation and about making healthy food choices. Mealtimes are sociable as children sit and talk to their friends.

These experiences contribute to children's understanding of their health and to their social development.Staff are helpful and are supporting children to develop their independence skills. Toddlers independently get paper towels when they spill water during their play.

Pre-school children independently find their name when they self-register on arrival at the setting. This helps children to be ready for their next step in education. However, during some daily routines such as mealtimes, children are not always learning how to further develop their independence skills.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager has a secure understanding about her role and responsibility to ensure that children and staff are safe at the setting. Staff complete thorough risk assessments of the setting.

This helps to provide a safe and suitable learning environment for children. The manager knows how to work with other professionals to help keep children safe. She ensures that all staff receive appropriate safeguarding training.

This helps them assess whether a child may be at risk of abuse and the appropriate action to take. Staff know what to do if they have concerns about the conduct of a colleague and who to report to outside the setting.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review how daily routines such as mealtimes can be more effective to further develop all children's independence skills strengthen the setting's evaluation processes to be able to further identify areas of development to raise the quality of the setting to an even higher standard.