Little Explorers Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy the time they spend at this nursery, playing with friends and staff.

They show that they feel happy and safe as they confidently make decisions in their play. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make good progress in their learning. The manager and staff provide children with good support to achieve their development milestones and ensure they have the skills they need in readiness for school.

Older children, concentrate very well and eagerly take part in activities that help them to develop their hand muscles in readiness for writing. They use smaller ...pieces of construction equipment and design with a clear purpose. They use their hands and fingertips to create flower paintings.

Children behave well and understand the high expectations that staff have of them. They follow staff instructions, such as to safely cross the courtyard to get to the outdoor area. Children develop good social skills.

Two-year-old children show an interest in the play and activities of others. They move closer towards other children to find out what they are doing. Older children play together happily and develop storylines in their play.

They imagine they are superheroes and pretend to climb the wall like a spider.

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

Leadership is strong. The manager and area manager oversee the quality of the service they provide and identify areas to further develop.

They provide staff with helpful training and support so they can extend their professional skills. This includes further training to support children with SEND and to help children to manage their feelings and behaviour.The manager has developed an ambitious curriculum that reflects the needs of the children who attend the nursery, particularly for their communication and language development.

She is aware of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on children's development and ensures that staff focus on addressing any gaps in children's experiences.The manager and staff place a strong focus on supporting children's communication and language skills. Children pretend to be the wind and blow on an umbrella.

This supports their mouth muscles for speaking. They copy staff who model language, such as 'rain', 'wind', 'blow' and 'umbrella'. Staff understand how to encourage children to use their language skills and ask for what they want, such as the cutlery they need at mealtimes.

There is an effective key-person system in place. Staff have a good knowledge of children's achievements and progress at home. Overall, they plan well for children's development.

However, they do not focus the adult-led activities and some learning experiences as well as possible, to precisely reflect the children's individual learning targets. This means that staffs' teaching does not always focus specifically on what children need to learn next.Children are well-motivated to play and learn.

They have regular, daily access to outdoor play experiences. This includes visits to the park and trips into the local community. However, staff do not make the best use of the outdoor space to plan learning experiences that fully challenge children to build on their knowledge and skills.

The manager and staff successfully use books to extend children's knowledge and understanding across the seven areas of learning. For example, older children learn about springtime and the changes that take place during this season, such as flowers beginning to grow.Parent partnerships are good.

Parents speak very highly about the manager and the staff team. They appreciate the dedication that they show towards their children. Staff provide parents with regular communication about their child's progress so that they can further support learning at home.

Staff spend time with parents of new children so that they can gain a secure understanding of children's personalities and needs.Staff support children to develop a 'can-do' attitude. They encourage them to manage everyday tasks for themselves, such as dressing in outdoor clothes, putting on aprons and peeling fruit at snack time.

Staff support children's health well. They follow good hygiene routines and teach children about the importance of regular handwashing. Children have access to fresh drinking water.

They enjoy the healthy snacks and meals that the nursery provides. Staff encourage parents to support their healthy eating policy with the packed lunches they send in for their children.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and staff complete effective risk assessment to keep children safe. They take prompt action to address any hazards to children. Staff understand the procedures for managing accidents and hold paediatric first-aid qualifications.

Leaders take effective action to manage any accidents that children have. Leaders and staff have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding policy and procedures. They understand a range of signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk of harm.

They know how to report any concerns to the relevant services to get children and families the help that they need. Leaders complete thorough vetting checks to ensure the suitability of staff.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nuse children's assessment information to plan learning experiences that are precisely targeted to what the children need to learn next for their stage of development nenhance the opportunities for children's outdoor learning so that this fully reflects the ambitious curriculum.

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