Little Stars Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy, secure and make good progress in this caring nursery.

Children receive good quality care from passionate and caring staff. Children are happy to attend and separate well from their parents. The attentive staff support all children to learn with focused activities based on their unique interests and needs.

Children learn from a comprehensive curriculum, which has high expectations for all children's development. For example, all children are supported to make progress in their personal, social and emotional well-being through building sensitive relationships with their key person.Children display pos...itive behaviours, with all children knowing routines and expectations.

Children are confident and show consideration towards each other in a nursery where they are valued and cared for. Children navigate the nursery with confidence and enjoyment. For example, children respond with joy when they access to the garden or when it is time for meals.

Children learn through the exploration of natural resources, such as a mud kitchen for mixing mud cakes, and learn to care for nature through bird feeding. Parents are involved in this exploration through an online learning platform, where they share their own home activities. This supports staff and children to work together to support children's learning.

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

Leaders are passionate about delivering a curriculum that focuses on children's well-being and their exploration of the natural world. Leaders have a comprehensive approach to motivating their team. Staff work together to create a caring environment for children.

Leaders offer unique training opportunities, which are moderated for the individual staff needs. For example, staff take part in online, in-person or one-to-one training. This ensures staff are well informed and have a shared approach to the nursery's ethos and curriculum.

Leaders have high expectations for what children learn in their communication and language development. Staff have very good knowledge of their key children and build on their existing knowledge. Staff use observations of children to understand what their next steps are and then offer unique opportunities to support each child to progress.

For example, staff support small children to increase their vocabulary through songs, rhymes and simple sign language. Children progress well in their communication and language. Staff provide a language-rich environment, good modelling and consistent praise.

This supports children to extend their language from using single words to multiple word sentences.Staff take every opportunity to support children's mathematical skills. For example, when children make dough, staff extend children's language with words such as, 'more', 'gone', 'full' and 'empty'.

Staff demonstrate early counting, and praise children's efforts. Staff count down for excited children waiting to have a push in their car and count sticks in mud cakes, which helps children to develop mathematical skills from an early age.Children show good physical skills.

The move confidently indoors and outdoors, using tools such as pots, pans and spatulas. Children develop hand and finger muscles when making their own sandcastles, dough and mud creations. Children confidently use forks and spoons at mealtimes and are supported to pick up small items, such as leaves or twigs, to develop a pincer movement.

Partnerships with parents are very positive. Staff utilise all opportunities to communicate well with families and to share information to support children to enjoy learning and progress. For example, staff share achievements and activities online and have regular meetings with families to share and identify where they can offer support.

Parents feel involved and value the staff's communication.Staff often help children to locate and put on their wellies, coats and bibs. The setting could further improve by consistently giving children opportunities to find their own items and to put them on themselves.

This would help children to develop their self-care skills and to gain a sense of pride in their independence skills.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders prioritise safeguarding in all aspects.

They have an effective recruitment process and carry out all necessary checks to ensure staff are suitable to work with children. They offer consistent, appropriate training to all staff, which is moderated to their needs. Staff have a detailed knowledge of how to identify risks and harm to children.

They confidently describe the correct policies and procedures that are to be followed in the event of a concern that a child may be at risk of harm. Staff are well deployed, and children are well supervised throughout the day.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: consistently support children to develop independence within their self-care.