Linzi’s Little Gems Caring For Your Children

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Babies and children are happy and feel safe in this welcoming, inclusive and nurturing setting.

Older children talk confidently to visitors. They ask them their name and why they are here. Children take turns to choose cards when playing a shopping game.

They follow the rules and display a strong sense of fairness. Children are enthusiastic and say 'brilliant' when their friends pick up a card with an item that matches their shopping list. Children care for the setting's pet rabbits, 'Pearl' and 'Blue'.

They feed the rabbits daily and give them clean water. Children show kindness and are very gentle. Staff rew...ard children's achievements through praise and the 'Dolphin of the day' award.

Children help each other, share resources and take turns very well. They are very polite and say 'please' when asking for something. Children's behaviour is excellent.

Staff have high expectations of what children can achieve, overall. Children are interested and motivated in their learning and explorations. They enjoy plenty of unhurried time to make discoveries and experiment.

Children display high levels of concentration and persistence as they mix ingredients together to make 'volcanos' and 'potions'. They delight as the mixture increases in volume and state excitedly, 'it's expanding'. Babies delight in joining in and singing songs.

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

Staff support children's emotional well-being incredibly well. They know the children deeply and tailor the care they provide to meet their individual needs. Staff work closely with parents to plan when it is time for children to move rooms.

Key persons move rooms with the children, when possible. This particularly benefits children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The manager uses additional funding effectively to support children's learning.

Staff focus strongly on supporting children's language development. They skilfully use a high 'sing-song' voice to engage babies. Staff reinforce babies' language skills to help support their growing vocabulary.

Older children enjoy playing a 'who's under the blanket' game. Staff challenge the children's language and memory skills asking, 'Who was in the circle and is now hiding under the blanket?'. Children correctly identify and fluently express who is hiding.

The manager provides supervision, appraisals, mentoring and a wide range of training opportunities for staff. Most staff fully understand their teaching role and how young children learn. However, on occasions, some staff do not have high enough expectations of what the children can achieve.

Consequently, they write the children's names for them, even though they are capable of writing their own names.Staff are committed to improving children's health. Children develop their understanding of the importance of healthy food choices.

The cook provides nutritious, freshly prepared meals each day. She ensures that all children's cultural and dietary needs are catered for. The cook and the staff follow government guidelines to ensure that children receive a balanced diet and food is presented safely, in line with recommendations.

Children are curious, highly motivated and innovative. For instance, they thread skipping ropes through the fence, the willow, the crates, and the bench in the garden to create a large spider's web. Children help each other and negotiate who will carry out each task.

However, on occasion, staff do not consistently encourage children's individual expressive and creative ideas. For example, some staff draw outline pictures for children to colour in.Staff consistently encourage children's independence in managing their own self-care skills.

They sequence this to successfully build on what children can already do. Babies learn to feed themselves using a spoon, young children develop their skills in pouring their own water from jugs and older children serve their own food from dishes. Children care for the environment and show high levels of independence as they sweep the floor and empty the dustpan into the bin.

Parents speak highly of the setting and value the support that they and their children receive, particularly during difficult periods in their lives. They are kept informed about their children's learning through a variety of methods. Parents are pleased with the progress their children make.

They are 'really happy' with the setting and describe staff as 'supportive'. Parents also state that their children are 'happy and content in the setting'.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff understand their role and responsibilities in keeping children safe from harm. They are clear about the procedures to follow should they have concerns about a child's welfare or the behaviour of a colleague. The manager uses robust recruitment, induction and supervision to ensure that staff are suitable to care for children.

She also ensures that all staff are registered with the Disclosure and Barring Service to keep their suitability updated, and checks this regularly. The manager initiates fire evacuation drills to ensure that all staff and children know what to do in the event of an emergency. She also ensures that entry systems are robust, to help ensure that no one can enter the setting unannounced.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen teaching, particularly where staff are less qualified, to ensure consistently high expectations and to maximise children's learning across all areas of the curriculum

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