Little Willows Day Nursery (Corsham)

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children demonstrate they feel safe and secure at the setting. They form good bonds with staff and make friends with each other.

Children and babies settle down quickly on arrival to engage in activities independently and with staff. For example, babies snuggle up to staff as they share a book together.Children thoroughly enjoy music and movement activities.

They move their bodies eagerly to the rhythm of the music and balance beanbags skilfully on different parts of their bodies. Children join in enthusiastically with actions and songs, showing good listening skills and control. For instance, they pretend to be sleepi...ng crocodiles and wake up quickly when told, giggling in delight as they move their arms like a crocodile's mouth to 'snap, snap, snap'.

Children experiment with a range of media and materials and are keen to show off, and talk about, their creations, such as frosty-day pictures and train track constructions. Staff give children plenty of praise, encouraging them to take pride in their achievements and boosting self-esteem and confidence.Children benefit from regular opportunities for fresh air and exercise.

Babies stand at the water tray strengthening the muscles in their legs as they examine the ice that has formed. Staff encourage them to walk with support and to take their first steps. Older children have fun as they re-enact stories, for example as they ride push-along bicycles to go on a bear hunt with staff.

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

The managers reflect on the quality of the provision regularly and make improvements. For example, they have made changes in the environment to encourage more children to experiment with resources to practise their early writing skills. The provider and managers have plans to develop the outdoor area to enhance children's learning across the curriculum.

The provider encourages managers and staff to develop their knowledge and skills. This includes support to obtain early years qualifications, such as degrees. Managers and staff receive regular appraisals and ongoing training opportunities to promote children's care, learning and development.

Staff plan and provide stimulating activities based on children's interests and their next learning steps to help them make progress. For instance, children develop the small muscles in their fingers in preparation for early writing. They concentrate deeply as they try to reach through the spider's web made of masking tape to pick up small plastic animals with tongs.

Other children develop their imagination as they pretend the web is a bouncy rope and enthusiastically move small-world firefighters across the rope to put out the fire.Staff help babies and children to develop their communication skills. They talk to them, sing songs and rhymes and introduce new words to develop vocabulary.

Occasionally, staff miss opportunities to extend children's language skills. Sometimes, when staff ask children questions, they do not give them time to respond before providing an answer. Older children engage eagerly in circle time activities, such as making 'silly soup', as part of their literacy development.

However, staff do not consistently use the correct phonic sound for letters during the activity to reinforce children's understanding.Staff introduce mathematics into activities. For example, they talk about shapes that toddlers draw, support children to count and encourage them to talk about the size of spoon required to stir the 'silly soup'.

Staff challenge older children to make simple calculations about how many more chairs they need, for instance when children help to move tables and chairs to set up for lunch.Staff support those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities particularly well. This includes gaining support from, and liaising with, other professionals and implementing individual support plans alongside parents.

Staff adapt practice to meet children's individual needs. This helps children to make good progress from their starting points.Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour.

They support children well to share and take turns. They help children to understand emotions, for example encouraging them to talk about how they are feeling and why.Children receive nutritious, home-cooked foods.

Overall, staff use daily routines effectively to help children to develop their self-care skills. Babies learn to feed themselves, and older children pour their own drinks and carry their plates of food confidently to the table. At times, the youngest children are kept waiting too long for their lunch or for staff to clear up and carry out routine chores.

This means staff miss some learning opportunities and children do not receive the highest support possible.Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents speak positively about the staff and feel involved in their children's learning.

They receive regular information about their children's day, achievements and next steps in learning. They appreciate the support that they receive from staff to help provide consistency for their children at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Managers use robust recruitment processes to ensure the suitability of staff for their role. Staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of child protection signs and symptoms. They are confident about what to do if they have any concerns about a child or if an allegation is made against staff.

Staff teach children to keep themselves safe. For example, they give children good explanations about how to set up a ramp to the balancing beams to avoid the ramp slipping as children walk up.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: develop staff's skills further, to ensure that they give children enough time to think and respond to questions and to teach children the correct pronunciation of phonics, to extend children's language and literacy skills review the organisation of the daily routines, particularly for the youngest children, to make the most of children's time for play and learning.