Little Leo’s Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children build warm relationships with staff.

They approach staff for cuddles if they need reassurance or to engage them excitedly in their play. Children respond well to the calm, nurturing and positive tone that staff use with children. Children understand how to behave well.

They respond well to the praise that staff offer. For example, children beam with pride as staff praise how well they are sitting and listening during story time. Children display many positive behaviours, such as listening well to peers and staff and being kind to each other.

Children engage enthusiastically with the wide range of lear...ning opportunities that staff plan for them. For example, children learn about how plants grow by planting many different fruit and vegetables. They proudly pick strawberries they have grown and enjoy them for their snack.

Children enjoy a variety of stories and songs during circle time. They make good progress due to the high expectations that staff have of what they can achieve.Children benefit from a well-embedded key-person system.

Staff know their key children well. They have a good understanding of the progress they have made and are passionate about helping children to achieve the next steps in their learning.

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

Leaders place a high priority on developing children's communication and language skills.

Staff get down to children's level and narrate as they play, supporting them to build on the language that they have. Staff use stories and songs throughout the day to support children to learn new vocabulary and develop their sentence structure. This helps children to make good progress in their communication and language development.

Staff support children to learn important social skills such as sharing and taking turns. They plan many opportunities throughout the day to help children develop these skills. For example, staff help babies to share toy food during role play through modelling and praise when they do this.

This helps children to learn the skills they need to form relationships with their peers.Staff ensure that children have plenty of opportunity for physical activity. For example, children climb up and go down slides, plant fruit and vegetables and ride bikes and toy cars.

Staff in the baby room carefully consider how to support babies to learn to walk by considering the environment and how to arrange the furniture to support the children to move on from cruising to walking. However, on occasion, other staff do not always have a clear understanding of the skills that children need to develop next in their physical development.Staff consider how to help children to prepare for school well.

They ensure that children understand what to expect through stories and discussions about starting school. Leaders form good links with local schools. Teachers come to visit children at the setting.

The nursery staff provide transition reports for each child for their new school. This helps children to transition from nursery to school.Staff encourage children to develop their independence skills.

Children make their own choices about their play. Toddlers help to prepare their snack by peeling their own oranges. Pre-schoolers serve themselves at lunchtime and then tidy their plates when they have finished.

Developing self-care skills such as these prepares children well for the next step in their learning journey.Leaders understand what good practice looks like. They assist staff to improve their practice through identifying appropriate professional development opportunities.

Leaders ensure that regular supervision meetings with staff help them to identify and address any areas for development. This leads to good outcomes for children.Leaders work with key persons, parents and external agencies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well.

They carefully consider the targets to put in place for each child. They use well-thought-out strategies to work with children to achieve these targets. This helps every child to make good progress on their individual learning journey.

Staff communicate clearly and effectively with parents, verbally and via an app, about the progress that children are making. Leaders invite parents in regularly for events such as cultural food day or to read a story to children. They regularly seek and respond to parents' views.

This builds strong parent partnerships.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The provider has recently improved all staff's understanding of the processes to follow in the event of an allegation against a member of staff.

This ensures that they meet statutory requirements and keep children safe. Leaders and staff now have a thorough understanding of what to do if they have concerns about the conduct of a member of staff or if an allegation is made. Staff have a good understanding of the procedure to follow if they have concerns that a child may be at risk of harm.

Leaders ensure that staff maintain a good knowledge of safeguarding through regular training and quizzes. They display key safeguarding information within the setting for staff to refer to if necessary. Staff support children to develop their understanding of risk.

For example, staff discuss with toddlers the importance of being careful around knives used to cut their fruit. This helps children to play a part in keeping themselves safe.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to develop their understanding of the skills that children should achieve through the curriculum for physical development.