Little Learners In the Park

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children play happily and enthusiastically in this warm and welcoming environment. They choose from an extensive range of activities that capture their interest and help them to make good progress in their learning.

For instance, children enjoy imaginative storytelling sessions, digging and exploring in sand and investigating bugs in the mud kitchen. They also delight in exploring polar animals through books, role play and sensory trays. When new children first start, staff are extremely kind, give them lots of reassurance and high levels of attention.

This helps them to settle well. Children show a good sense of belon...ging and high levels of emotional well-being because staff are attentive and attuned to their individual needs. Children respond well to staff's high expectations for their behaviour and learning.

Children receive clear messages about kindness and expected behaviour from the experienced team, who are positive role models. As a result, children feel safe and secure and behave in a considerate manner. Children who speak English as an additional language have good levels of support.

For instance, they take part in small language focused groups with props and visual aids to introduce new vocabulary and support their understanding.

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

Staff are knowledgeable about how children learn. They plan an exciting and varied educational programme and sequence the curriculum effectively.

Staff regularly assess children's development and plan appropriate activities to close any gaps in their learning. As a result, children are flourishing and making good progress.Children are curious and motivated learners.

This is apparent when they create imaginary games together with torches and an igloo. They laugh and giggle as they hide and show a real sense of fun and enjoyment as they play.Children have good opportunities to develop their mathematical skills.

They frequently count and use mathematical language. For instance, children explore dice and count and classify teddy bears. They solve problems and make height comparisons when exploring construction toys.

Staff teach children about diversity and about others' lives that are different to their own. Children's home cultures and backgrounds are celebrated, for example, they learn about Chinese New Year and try different foods from around the world.Children have good support to lead healthy lifestyles.

They eat nutritious snacks and have frequent opportunities during the day to be active and develop their physical skills. This is evident when children play on ride-on toys outdoors and have plenty of space to run and play in.Staff place high priority on nurturing children's personal development and self-esteem.

They form respectful relationships with children and frequently acknowledge their efforts. Children are thriving and behave extremely well.Staff have good awareness of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on children in their care.

They plan lots of activities to promote children's social development. For example, they plan games that encourage children to share and cooperate when playing together.Parents express high levels of satisfaction with the provision.

They say staff are kind and caring and know their children well. They value the daily communication they receive and feel their children are making good progress.The quality of teaching is consistently good.

However, on some occasions, some staff do not make the most of spontaneous conversation during activities to skilfully question children to help them to expand their knowledge and learning.Staff express that they have good levels of well-being and enjoyment in their work. They are committed to training and updating their knowledge and skills.

Although staff meet regularly to discuss children's interests and next steps, leaders do not focus sharply on regular staff supervision to enhance individual development and practice even further.Leaders and staff have worked hard to make improvements since their last inspection. For instance, they have been working closely with their early years advisor in the local borough and have made positive changes to how they induct new staff and meet the individual needs of children.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders follow effective recruitment and vetting procedures to ensure staff working with children are suitable for their roles. Staff understand their responsibilities to keep children safe.

They attend frequent child protection training and are knowledgeable about potential safeguarding concerns. Staff recognise possible signs that may indicate a child is at risk of harm. Furthermore, they show awareness of wider safeguarding issues, such as the 'Prevent' duty, children and families becoming at risk of radicalisation and extreme views.

Staff take appropriate steps to ensure that the nursery is safe and secure. For instance, they regularly risk assess the classrooms and outdoor spaces to minimise hazards and to maintain children's safety.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen staff teaching during spontaneous play and conversations with children to increase and expand children's knowledge and understanding even further nenhance staff supervision to deliver regular and highly focused support to strengthen the quality of teaching to an even higher level.