Little Rabbit Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are very happy and settled at this welcoming nursery and develop secure relationships with the kind and caring staff. They display a strong sense of belonging and demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. Staff are happy to see the children and talk to them about their past experiences.

Children are valued, and staff understand what children want in order to meet their needs. Children benefit from lots of fresh air and exercise. Children learn about the world around them.

They enthusiastically explore the spacious and well-resourced outdoor area and local parks. Staff use positive language and are good role ...models. In turn, children interact and play with their peers positively.

They take turns and are kind to each other. Children are encouraged to be proud of their achievements, which is reinforced by staff. Children behave well.

They display good social skills and play together well. For example, children share resources as they cook different foods on the BBQ and take on roles during a fire-rescue mission. Staff encourage children to use good manners and interact with others in positive ways.

Children have opportunities to develop independence, such as older children independently serving their snack and meals and babies feeding themselves.

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

The manager has a clear curriculum approach and is ambitious for children. Staff know what the children can do and what they need to learn next.

Staff plan the environment so that children have opportunities to engage in an interesting range of learning experiences, both indoors and outdoors. The manager ensures that additional funding for children is used well to target their specific needs. All children make good progress in relation to their individual starting points.

Children confidently use mathematical language in their play. They accurately count candles on the cake and compare how many pieces of fruit they have with their friends at snack time. Staff teach children the names of the shapes they have used in the sand area.

This supports children's understanding of early mathematical concepts and prepares them for the next stage in their learning.Overall, there is a focus for developing children's language and communication skills. For example, role-play areas are set up to create opportunities for communication and to develop children's social skills.

Staff focus on children's speech and language through songs and stories at group times. Older children are confident communicators. They regularly join in with conversations and show good listening and attention skills.

However, children with developing language skills are not supported as well, particularly those with English as an additional language. Staff do not consistently find out common words children use to support their language development. Staff have visual cues to support children to understand what is happening next, and these are not regularly used with younger children.

Therefore, children become upset as they are unsure of what is expected of them.Children enjoy a range of physical development opportunities throughout the day. For example, babies practise using their fingers and hands to make marks while painting, and staff warmly praise them for their efforts.

Toddlers scoop and use their hands as they fill pots with cooked spaghetti. Older children explore mark making and drawing. Children chat to each other about their achievements and show pride in their efforts.

Parents are very complimentary about the nursery. They appreciate the high levels of communication that they receive about their children's development. They feel that their children have made rapid progress since they started.

Parents say that staff 'go above and beyond' to ensure that their children get the support they need to succeed.Staff receive regular supervision and training. They feel supported in their role and, consequently, staff retention is good.

However, the systems in place for monitoring staff teaching are not as effective as they could be in supporting them to extend children's learning even further.The manager develops links with external professionals to support individual children. They share information about children's care and learning effectively to help provide consistency in children's development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager ensures that all staff are suitable to work with children. This includes a thorough recruitment process, induction, and regular supervision.

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities to safeguard children. They carry out regular risk assessments to keep children safe. Staff have a broad understanding of safeguarding issues, including the 'Prevent' duty guidance.

They know how to report their concerns about children's welfare or a colleague's conduct in line with the local authority procedures. This helps to protect children's welfare.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen strategies used to enhance children's language development, particularly for the youngest and non-verbal children make better use of the monitoring of staff teaching, to extend teaching and learning opportunities for children even further.