Little Owls Nursery Gipton North

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff have high expectations for children.

They focus on helping children to develop secure foundations for their learning. For example, staff support children to communicate in different ways, depending on their needs and stages of development. Babies begin to use different signs and point to pictures to show staff the activities that they would like to choose.

This helps them to become independent learners. Older children start to use sentences. Staff support them to extend their vocabulary by introducing new words.

They gather extensive information about children when they join the nursery. This has had a p...ositive impact on children's emotional well-being and helps staff to meet their care needs effectively. Children settle in very quickly and show that they feel safe, confident and happy in the nursery.

Their behaviour is very positive and they develop high levels of self-esteem.During the COVID-19 pandemic, the nursery merged with a partner nursery and some children were unable to attend. Staff worked exceptionally hard to maintain relationships with families and had regular telephone contact with them.

In addition, they provided videos of story sessions and provided learning activities for children to take part in at home. This helped to minimise the impact of the pandemic, particularly for older children who were excited and confident to return.

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

Staff provide a caring and nurturing environment for children.

Children have secure bonds with their key person and staff team. For instance, babies seek staff's attention when they play and explore the areas with confidence. Toddlers begin to learn the names of other children in the group as they join in with welcome songs.

Staff recognise when children are tired and follow their individual routines from home. This meets children's care needs effectively.Children learn about their own community and the wider world.

For example, staff provide activities which reflect children's home lives and special celebrations, such as Diwali. Older children concentrate well and listen intently as staff read factual books about the celebration. They develop their physical and creative skills as they mould clay and use glitter to make their lights.

Staff focus on developing children's speech and language. Overall, children make good progress in relation to their starting points in learning. For example, staff line up the toy animals and babies begin to copy the words and sounds they hear.

Staff model words which describe the texture of the pumpkins as older children use spoons to dig out the inside. The manager is currently reflecting on ways to provide even further support for toddlers who speak English as an additional language.Children benefit from a healthy, varied menu, which caters for their individual dietary requirements.

Staff encourage children to try new food. They model good manners as they eat lunch with children at the table. Children have plenty of opportunities for fresh air.

They use the outdoor areas to develop their physical skills as they run around the garden. However, there are times when staff miss opportunities to extend other areas of children's learning outdoors.Staff are skilled in identifying any gaps in children's development and use their assessments effectively.

They work in partnership with parents and other professionals to work towards targets for children's learning. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, they use extra funding to provide one-to-one time with children and provide quiet, sensory spaces for them to be calm and settled in.

The management team has established highly effective partnerships across the local authority. It uses these links to help families to access any support that they need, including beyond the setting, such as financial help. Partnerships with parents are extremely positive.

They say that staff and managers 'go the extra mile to help children and their level of expertise is very much appreciated'.Staff say that they feel valued in the nursery and are passionate about their work with children. They attend various professional development opportunities to develop their skills.

For example, some staff are trained in storytelling and have used this to inspire a love of books in children across the setting. Staff benefit from regular supervision meetings and attend training days, which have recently focused on their positive well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The management team prioritises children's safety. It provides staff with regular training opportunities to help them maintain an in-depth understanding of child protection procedures. Staff show confidence in describing how they identify, report and record concerns about children's welfare.

They are aware of broader safeguarding concerns, including the potential signs of exploitation and female genital mutilation. The manager has thorough procedures to follow in the event a complaint or allegation is made against a member of staff. During recruitment, she checks staff's suitability to work with children and obtains suitable references.

Staff adhere to robust risk assessments to help keep areas safe for children. For example, they ask parents to check the contents of children's bags before they are taken into the room.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nenhance ways to develop young children's communication skills even further, particularly for those children who speak English as an additional language help staff to further develop the curriculum so it consistently challenges and excites children when they choose to learn outdoors.