Little Learners (Galgate) Nursery & Preschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive at this nursery excited and ready to start their day.

Familiar staff know the children and parents well and greet them warmly. Younger children settle well with caring, nurturing staff. Older children find their friends and explore the activities set out for them.

Staff know children's starting points and what they need to learn next. Staff plan learning to build on what children already know and can do. Staff focus on teaching communication skills, and children show good progress in their social skills and understanding.

Staff encourage children to manage their own feelings and behaviour. Staf...f support children to understand how their actions affect others. For example, staff take time to help children to share and take turns while playing with the cars.

They develop confidence and resilience as staff are very attentive to their needs. Experienced staff work hard to ensure children are ready for the next stage in their learning. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Children feel comfortable, happy and safe here. This is because staff ensure they develop positive relationships with children to create a sense of belonging.

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

Communication and language are a focus throughout the nursery.

Staff encourage a love of stories and rhymes, and children thoroughly enjoy these activities. However, staff do not always promote the correct pronunciation of words to children. This does not help children to build on the vocabulary they already know in ways that will support progress.

Children practise their fine motor skills by using play dough and sensory items. They push play dough into different-shaped moulds and use sticks to make marks in it. This helps children to develop their coordination and pre-writing skills as they persevere at making different shapes and marks.

Children take part in activities they might not otherwise have access to. For example, they enjoy exploring the nearby woodland area, which helps to develop their curiosity about nature. The nursery has good links with the local community, for example, they invite residents of a local care home to join in with festive activities.

This helps children to know more about the community they live in and develop respect for other people.Children show interest in their play and keep persevering at their activity. For example, while in the mud kitchen, children make comments such as 'look at the slimy seeds' and 'it's a bit sloppy!' as they continue to try and scoop the seeds out of the pumpkin that they have made pretend soup in.

This helps children to develop concentration in their learning.Children are very happy in their play and learning. Young children join in circle time, where they practise familiar songs and rhymes with interactive actions.

They use shakers and understand simple instructions, for example 'shake it high, shake it low'. This helps children to develop motivation in learning as staff encourage children to join in.Children are developing some independence skills.

Children know they need to wash their hands before lunchtime. They put their own coats and wellington boots on before they play outside. However, staff do not support children to peel their own fruit, pour their own drinks or serve their own lunch as they do this for the children without giving them a choice.

This does not help children to learn to do things for themselves.The manager ensures that staff have a training plan in place and completes regular supervisions to support their professional development. The manager is very proactive in helping staff to gain more teaching skills.

This helps staff to reflect on their own practice and improve outcomes for children.The manager did not notify Ofsted of a significant event, i.e.

that a previous manager had left the nursery, within the timescale required when the previous manager left the nursery. However, this has been recognised and rectified by the manager and no further action is required.Parents are very happy with the nursery and the care and education the staff provide.

They say they have regular communication from their key person, both online and face to face. They know what their child is working on next. They say that their child has made great progress here.

This helps children to continue making progress through learning at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have very good knowledge of what would make them concerned about a child's safety and a colleague's conduct.

They know the signs to look for that would make them concerned about a child's safety and well-being. They know the correct reporting procedures for any concerns. All staff have completed safeguarding training.

There is a strong recruitment and induction process in place. All staff are checked for their suitability to work with children. This helps to keep children safe.

The nursery building has good security and is only accessible through doors with keycode locks. The nursery building is clean and well maintained throughout.

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 model the correct pronunciation of words to children so that they can learn vocabulary accurately support staff to help identify how to teach children independence skills, especially at mealtimes.