Little Lodge Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children arrive happily at this exciting and inclusive nursery. They are highly motivated and eager to learn.

Babies delight as they make marks with paint using different tools, such as brushes, sponges and rollers, to develop their early physical skills. Two-year-old children thrive as they explore their exciting environment. They learn to take risks as they independently cross a balancing beam.

They show extremely high levels of confidence and impressive physical skills as they control their bodies to walk along the beam. Children develop an early love for reading as they recite 'We're going on a bear hunt'. T...hey tread with bare feet through water, mud and flour and repeat descriptive language from the story to help them understand the concept of new words.

Older children flourish in the extensive range of experiences they access. They show consistently high levels of engagement and demonstrate the knowledge they have secured over time. For example, during forest school sessions, children remember what charcoal is and that they recently used this to make a fire.

They excitedly recall how they previously made paint by crushing up chalk and mixing it with water. Children initiate testing this knowledge to see whether they can do the same with the charcoal. They use their creation to successfully make marks on wood and stones using different tools, such as brushes and sticks.

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

The experienced manager has designed a highly ambitious curriculum, which helps children build their knowledge and skills over time. The sequencing of the curriculum is exceedingly effective. Staff share her vision and implement this securely across the provision.

Consequently, children thrive and make rapid progress in their learning and development. They are extremely well prepared for the next stage in their learning.The quality of education children receive is exemplary.

The inspiring staff team boast a depth of knowledge about how children develop. They use this to provide children with fun experiences to learn new skills. For example, children make potions using spoons and different sized containers to transport their mixtures.

Staff explain that this is to help children develop their coordination and arm muscles to transfer to other skills, such as pouring their own drinks.Children benefit from accessing a vast range of activities across the seven areas of learning and development. They practise skills they have previously learned and show high levels of concentration in their play.

Older children confidently make play dough themselves. They know the recipe and how many 'cups' or 'spoons' of each ingredient they need.Staff know children extremely well.

Key persons gather important information about children from parents before they start at nursery. They spend time getting to know every child. They use their expert knowledge of children to plan and provide meaningful learning opportunities.

This means that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who are in receipt of additional funding, make excellent progress in their learning and development.Children's behaviour is impeccable. They spend their time at nursery deeply engaged in their learning.

Children demonstrate high levels of respect for each other. They understand the rules and boundaries in place and why these are needed to keep themselves safe. For example, during forest school, children explain that they need to walk around the outside of the fire pit, so they do not get burned.

They know that if a stick is longer than their arm, they must pull it behind them.Partnerships with parents are exceptional. Parent speak highly of the relationships staff form with their children to help them feel secure.

They commend the extensive amount of information they receive regarding their child's learning and development. They welcome the activities and ideas from staff for how they can further extend their child's learning at home. Parents report that their children have made 'remarkable progress' since attending the nursery.

Staff provide superior support for children's communication and language development. They help children recall objects from stories and past activities. Staff recognise the importance of helping children to pronounce words correctly.

They consistently speak clearly to help children learn new vocabulary and develop fluent communication skills.Children access a considerable range of experiences to help them learn about people, families and communities beyond their own. They explore clothing from different cultures and celebrate different festivals.

Staff skilfully challenge gender stereotyping through the resources available to children.Managers provide staff with dynamic supervision opportunities. Staff comment positively about the exceedingly high levels of support they receive from the manager.

The manager has an innovative and reflective nature, which helps her to identify any areas for further development. She precisely identifies training needs for staff to maintain and elevate the quality of teaching even further.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff complete regular safeguarding training and are confident in identifying signs that could indicate a child is at risk of harm. They demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the procedures to follow to report their concerns about children to managers or other professionals. Managers have robust procedures in place to monitor information about children's well-being.

They are proactive in sharing information with other professionals in a timely manner to keep children safe. There are rigorous recruitment procedures in place to help ensure the suitability of staff. Staff are extremely vigilant of children and successfully deploy themselves to keep children safe.