Small People Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are clearly extremely happy, safe, and settled in this unique, highly stimulating and enriching outdoor learning environment. Toddlers spontaneously greet the provider and visitors with a 'high five'. Older children laugh out loud and are thoroughly enthralled by staff, who are genuinely interested in them.

Children are captivated in their play. Babies learn to climb steps and slide down the other side. Toddlers make paint brushes out of natural objects.

Pre-school children persevere and learn how to blow up a balloon. Children sustain high levels of engagement and curiosity as they learn. Concentration is evi...dent on their face as they carefully create rock 'gems'.

They eagerly show staff the three eyes on their 'monster'. This contributes to their creativity and imaginative skills as well as promoting their fine motor skills.Children demonstrate that they understand different emotions and feelings.

They use mirrors and 'emotion butterflies' to help them articulate how they are feeling and to label their emotions. Furthermore, during circle time, children use a thumbs up or a thumbs down to share how they are feeling. Children benefit from the superb relationships the nursery has built up with parents.

Parents comment that they are extremely happy with the regular communication they receive and the super progress their children have made. This contributes to continuity of care and education between home and nursery.

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

The provider is knowledgeable, and passionate about the nursery.

She, her manager, and staff have a shared vision of the high-quality care they want to always provide for children. All staff feel extremely valued, well supported and staff morale is exceptional. For example, staff comment on how they feel very proud to win employee of the month.

Staff designed an oral health activity for children in the nursery. The provider rewarded their success with a motivational reward.The provider and manager offer regular meetings for staff, where there is a strong focus on well-being.

The staff are highly qualified and this reflects in the quality of education. There is evidence of some outstanding practice, however, this is not yet consistent across the nursery. For example, occasionally, some staff are less confident to build on what children already know and can do.

The provider acknowledges there is scope to help staff improve their teaching skills.Staff offer children praise for using superb manners. For instance, toddlers wait for their fruit at snack time they ask, 'Please may I have more apple?' Staff reply, 'Of course you may, thank you for your beautiful manners'.

At lunchtime, children ask, 'Please may I leave the table?' This demonstrates their good social skills.Staff go to great lengths to develop very positive relationships with all children. There are clear bonds between children and all staff.

Babies are wary of visitors, however, with staff close by reassuring them, they soon become confident and welcome visitors into their play.Staff want children to have the very best opportunities to flourish and broaden their horizons. Children relish the opportunity to collect eggs for the chef from the resident chickens.

The chef prepares highly nutritious meals and the children plant, grow, and harvest the vegetables used in meals.Staff provide children with excellent opportunities to learn about other countries. Each month the nursery holds a 'culture day'.

This links to a particular country and staff wear national dress. Children listen to music and eat the food that is traditionally from that country. Children of all ages come together to take part in relevant activities.

This helps to promote children's understanding of the wider world.Staff plan a curriculum that offers a rich programme of activities, that help children to learn and develop across all areas of learning. Children of all ages develop different skills that will support their future learning.

Children play outdoors all day, every day. They have a vast area to run, jump and play in. This contributes well to their physical development.

Babies are helped to learn to walk. Toddlers develop good communication skills and pre-school children develop good mathematical and literacy skills.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff are confident and knowledgeable about their individual responsibilities to keep children safe and protected from harm. They know what to do if they are worried about a child. Staff are aware of all safeguarding issues, such as extremism.

The provider has excellent recruitment procedures in place to help ensure that new staff are suitable. These new staff receive a robust induction to help them understand their responsibilities to protect children. Staff are highly vigilant and carry out frequent headcounts on children.

They share numbers of children with colleagues when they take children out of an area or return, such as when they take children to the bathroom. This contributes to children's safety and welfare.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nimprove staff practice to raise the quality of education to a consistently high level.