Little Saints Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and enjoy their time at the nursery. They have secure attachments with staff and seek them out to share their experiences. For example, younger children enjoy cuddling up to familiar adults to share stories in their newly developed cosy area.

Staff get to know children well. They take time to help new children settle in and ensure they feel safe and secure.Overall, staff have high expectations for all children and plan a broad range of activities to extend on what children already know.

Children in the pre-school room learn what makes them unique as part of their 'All about me' topic. They examine th...eir facial features as they make self-portraits for a display. Younger children extend their vocabulary as they engage in activities centred around the popular story of 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'.

They explore size as they scoop porridge oats into small, medium and large containers. Children are well behaved, engaged and motivated in their learning.Partnerships with parents are strong.

There is a good exchange of information between home and the nursery. Parents attend regular meetings with their children's key person where they discuss children's development and transitions into the next room or on to school. Parents are happy with the nursery.

They praise the high level of care and education their children receive from nurturing and dedicated staff.

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

Staff decide what children need to learn based on their observations and assessments of what they can do. Children have opportunities to access a wide range of resources and choose what they would like to play with.

Positive interactions with staff support children's learning. Although teaching is good, overall, staff do not always extend children's creative skills or allow them enough time to test out their own thoughts and ideas.Staff incorporate children's interests into activities while making sure that their learning is paramount.

Children learn about their bodies, senses, families and what makes them similar to and different from others as they explore an 'All about me' theme. Older children enjoy looking at an information book with staff as they learn about the human body. They explore different body parts, use their senses and talk about what makes them healthy.

Children are well behaved and polite. Staff help children to understand the nursery's rules and boundaries. A consistent routine helps children to understand what is expected of them and know what is coming next.

For example, a timer is used to indicate when it is time to tidy away. All children stop what they are doing and sing a tidy-up song before they help to put the resources away.Children enjoy a good mix of child-initiated and adult-led learning opportunities.

However, at times, whole-group activities are not organised as effectively as possible to enable all children to be fully engaged. Younger children quickly lose interest and become distracted as they sit for extended periods of time.Staff support children's emotional well-being well and are attentive to their needs.

They help children to calm down when they become upset and encourage them to talk about how they are feeling and what is making them unhappy.Children develop their independence and self-care skills as they pour their own drinks at snack time and help themselves to water throughout the day. Children practise good hygiene procedures as they wash their hands independently and wipe their own noses.

The newly appointed manager has clear plans to monitor staff performance. She regularly observes staff interacting with children and gives them feedback on their performance. She has developed a termly supervision schedule to help to support staff development and well-being.

Leaders and staff reflect on the setting together to make improvements. The manager intends to develop the outdoor area so children can access this in all weathers. She is keen to develop a large-scale construction area with natural resources, such as wooden planks, crates and tyres, to provide children with more opportunities to explore and manage their own risks.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.All staff know what signs or symptoms might indicate a child is at risk of harm. They understand how to identify and report any concerns they may have about a child's welfare.

The manager ensures staff keep their knowledge up to date and that all staff are aware of wider child protection issues. When appointing new staff, the committee and manager follow safer recruitment procedures to ensure that staff are suitable and have the skills they need to fulfil their roles in the nursery.

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 fine-tune their teaching skills to give children the opportunities they need to explore their own thoughts and ideas and extend their creativity nexplore additional ways to organise group times to engage all children and extend their learning opportunities.

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