Little Sparks Wardle

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children thrive and thoroughly enjoy their time at this caring and friendly nursery. Children and parents are welcomed into nursery by staff who greet them enthusiastically and are genuinely interested to hear news from home.Children behave well and demonstrate good attitudes towards their learning.

All children are keen to both talk and listen to their friends and teachers. Staff have high expectations for the children and encourage them to cooperate well at mealtimes when setting places for each other. They encourage and model good manners as well as supporting children of all ages to take turns.

Children learn to be... independent, both when serving their own meals or being encouraged to put on their own shoes. All children enjoy exploring well-resourced, secure outdoor areas that encourage older children to investigate and talk about the insects they find while digging. Younger children are encouraged to develop their walking and climbing skills when moving around the area with the support of caring staff.

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

Staff know children well and this allows them to plan activities that children will find interesting and engaging. Children who have recently celebrated their second birthday make cakes with modelling clay, count the candles and sing songs to celebrate this. This enables them to enjoy practising both their creative and mathematical skills.

Younger children are encouraged to explore sounds and new words when playing in the water tray. Staff repeat back words such as 'splash' and 'all gone'. This helps the children develop their speaking and communication skills.

Staff know what they want children to learn next. For example, improving their counting skills or increasing their ability to handle and control tools, such as tweezers, pens and pencils. They provide plenty of opportunities to practise these skills.

However, sometimes activities are not sufficiently focused or well organised enough to allow children the opportunity to achieve the desired outcomes.Children behave well with staff demonstrating and promoting good manners, care and respect for each other. Staff encourage children to use 'kind hands' when interacting with their friends as well as pets or other animals.

This means that children are able to cooperate well with each other and benefit from the activities provided.Leaders and managers have high aspirations for both children and staff. The well-being of all in the setting is of particular focus.

Staff feel fully supported in their professional development.Although staff give great importance to promoting children's independence, the arrangements for serving food can leave some children sitting and waiting for some time before eating. The timing of some young children's personal care routines also breaks their concentration levels.

This results in some children's play and learning being unnecessarily interrupted.The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is a strength in this nursery. Staff make accurate assessments of children's needs and communicate these well to parents.

They engage constructively with outside professionals, such as occupational therapists, to support children in making good progress.Children in receipt of funding make good progress. Management and staff use their knowledge of the children's interests to purchase resources that will be enjoyed by all and help particular children in their learning.

For example, a water wall to help children develop physical skills and explore cause and effect, a mud kitchen to encourage cooperation, communication and turn taking.Staff have a very good relationship with parents. All parents spoken to speak very highly of the nursery and staff.

Parents comment that since coming to the nursery 'we have never looked back' and that they would recommend the nursery 'a thousand, million percent'. They feel involved in their child's learning and are kept well informed of their progress.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have good knowledge of safeguarding procedures. They have been trained in, and are familiar with, the signs and symptoms of abuse. They have a thorough understanding of what they should do if they have any concerns.

Leaders and managers ensure that all areas in the nursery are suitable for the children in their care. For example, all gates have appropriate locks and latches to help keep children safe and secure.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: build on the staff's knowledge of children to ensure that the activities provided are more sharply focused on what they want individual children to learn consider how daily routines, such as meals, snacks and nappy changing, could be adjusted to help children stay engaged and prevent having their play and learning interrupted unnecessarily.