Little Flowers Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy entering the welcoming environment staff provide for them.

They all happily leave their parents to explore and play, and quickly engage with the resources available. Samples of children's Diwali and firework art are on display for them and parents to see. Children eagerly answer questions about their pictures.

For example, toddlers share how their pictures are of fireworks going off and that they have seen one. Key persons work closely with children and their parents. Children form close bonds with staff and develop good emotional well-being.

Partnerships with parents have been enhanced since th...e last inspection. Parents' meetings, newsletters and display boards provide a wealth of information about the provision. Details of the themes children learn about enable parents to discuss and extend on this learning at home.

Children have lots of opportunities to play and learn. Staff encourage children to explore the different play areas and engage with them in learning activities. Pre-school children are inquisitive to discover whether their guesses of spiders, conkers or pips is what they will find in a pumpkin.

Toddlers enjoy exploring through a tray of lentils to find plastic spiders. Babies experiment with the textures and feeling of sand, plastic spiders and paint, and use their senses to smell and explore the inside of a pumpkin and the seeds.

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

The management team and staff demonstrate a strong commitment to improving the quality of care and learning they provide to children.

Since the last inspection a focus on reviewing and reorganising the pre-school and toddler rooms has made them into more enabling environments where children play together and learn more. Additional staff training and support from outside professionals have helped improve staff's knowledge of safeguarding and how to identify children's triggers for rare instances of challenging behaviour and allay these.Changes to the layout of the pre-school room environment, alongside behaviour management training, have led to an improvement in children's behaviour and they behave well.

Staff now confidently identify the signs that children are getting distracted or frustrated. They work in partnership with outside agencies to gain additional support for children with identified needs. Staff use successful strategies to allay any disruptive behaviour and keep children engaged in their learning.

Staff give toddlers clear instructions on how to resolve minor quarrels over toys, and staff in the pre-school room encourage children to consider the other children around them and respect each other's differences. Children learn what is expected of them and gain the skills they need for their future learning.Children enjoy healthy meals, using fresh ingredients, and the chef and staff use these to increase children's awareness of healthy eating.

The new menu reflects children's dietary needs and allergies, and enables children to experience foods that reflect other countries and cultural celebrations.Staff make good use of the environment and local community to enable children to have exercise and be in the fresh air. Outings help children gain an awareness of nature and the wider community around them.

A visit to a local Temple enabled children to gain a first-hand experience of another culture's celebrations.Staff are very knowledgeable about the children in their care and confidently share the skills and knowledge children currently have. The manager and her team regularly monitor the quality of staff's teaching and their knowledge of children's learning.

For example, they check that staff keep an accurate record of children's current attainments and that the next steps in learning will help build on children's current learning and development appropriately. Children are making good progress from their starting points. However, at times, staff do not manage routine activities, such as circle-time sessions, in a way that keeps all children meaningfully engaged.

Some children get restless as the session prolongs and this leads to them disengaging in their learning.Children in the baby room happily transfer from their parents to the staff. They participate in floor play and their need for comfort and sleep is met well by staff.

However, the organisation of changes to routine, such as getting babies ready to go outside, does not always run smoothly and leads to some children being unsettled or wandering around aimlessly as they wait for staff to be ready to provide their next learning experience.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Managers and staff demonstrate a secure knowledge of safeguarding.

They are aware of the signs that may indicate a concern for a child's welfare. Staff are clear on the process to follow if they need to report a concern about a member of staff or whistle blowing. They have completed in-house and external training to help increase their awareness of local safeguarding procedures.

Staff's knowledge is regularly monitored by the management team to test their understanding in this area. Managers follow robust recruitment processes to check staff are suitable to work with children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: manage group sessions, particularly circle time, more effectively to keep all pre-school children meaningfully engaged in their learning norganise the transition of some activities more effectively, such as getting babies ready to go outside, to prevent them becoming unsettled.