Littlegates for Little People

Littlegates for Little People Littlegate Farm, Clensey Lane, Dry Doddington, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG23 5HT

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19 February 2015 23 June 2011

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Good 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The setting meets legal requirements for early years settings

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This provision is good

 Teaching is consistently good throughout the nursery. As a result, all children make good progress with some children making rapid progress from their starting points.  The rural location of the nursery gives children many opportunities to experience fresh air and nature first hand. Consequently, children develop an understanding of the benefits of healthy practices.  The nursery goes to great lengths to make sure that the home-cooked meals are healthy and well balanced. Children enjoy tasty meals and snacks that include their five a day portion of fruit and vegetables. As a result, children develop a healthy-eating ethos.  The management place high priority on safeguarding children. All staff attend safeguarding children training. As a result, staff have a very good knowledge of what to do if they have concerns about a child in their care.  Staff prepare children well for school by developing their independence and personal,

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This provision is good

social and emotional skills. In addition, the children visit the local schools for events, and so become familiar with the school environment.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Staff in the classroom are too focused on adult-led activities. This means that children do not always get the opportunity to play and explore independently.  Staff focus too much on having conversations and not enough on asking children questions. This means, children do not always get a chance to respond or use their thinking skills.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 allow more time for children to fully explore the child-led activities that they are engaged in, particularly in the classroom  provide more opportunities for children to answer questions and to share their ideas to further support their critical thinking skills.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector toured the nursery and had discussions with the manager.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector observed adult-led and free-play activities taking place in the three playrooms and the outside area.  The inspector took into account the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.  The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children and discussed the nursery's self-evaluation and improvement plan.

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who attend. This is good

Staff in the pre-school room prepare children very well for school through a balance of adult-led activities and child-chosen play. In a small group, the children excitedly share their articles from home that begin with the letter g. In addition, children listen to a story and have fun identifying rhyming words. This develops their literacy skills. Staff create a dark den and provide toddlers with torches to explore and investigate. This supports an understanding of technology. Children in the classroom love traditional stories and they recite familiar phrases and re-enact the story. However, staff in the classroom place too much emphasis on adult-led experiences when children clearly want to free play. As a result, children's imagination and curiosity is sometimes not maximised. Staff have high expectations of children and they show their excitement when babies take their first steps. Staff constantly talk to the children, telling them about different cultures and traditions

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who attend. This is good

and talking about experiences at home. However, staff miss opportunities to ask questions and so children do not benefit from regular times when they think and respond. Staff involve parents well in supporting children's learning and development. For instance, children bring in items from home to reflect the letter of the week.

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good

Children build up emotional attachments and self-confidence from the outset of their placement. This is because there is a genuine family-feel to the nursery and staff are friendly and caring. Snack time is a sociable occasion where staff and children sit together and discuss things they have done at home. In addition, children pour their own drinks, developing their independence well. Staff remind children not to throw sand, which supports their understanding of safety measures. Staff in the baby room know their children very well. They recognise signs of tiredness and hunger and respond immediately to babies' needs. Children behave well because staff give clear boundaries.

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provision is good

The management demonstrate they are passionate about early years education and the staff team clearly shares their dedication. High priority is given to staff continuing their professional development. The qualifications of the staff is reflected in the good teaching and learning opportunities provided for children. Staff talk enthusiastically about the benefits of a recent training opportunity. For instance, this resulted in a junk box with a wealth of household items for children to explore and investigate being introduced. The management observe staff during practice and follow this up with quality supervisions. In addition, staff watch each other teaching the children. This supports staff to develop their teaching techniques. Recommendations from the last inspection have been successfully addressed, demonstrating a good capacity to improve. For instance, children are now able to make a decision about whether they want to play indoors or outdoors.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 253665 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 866776

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 45 Number of children on roll 69 Name of provider Gavin Naismith & Elizabeth Naismith Partnership Date of previous inspection 23 June 2011 Telephone number 01636 626067

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Type of provision

The Littlegates for Little People nursery was registered in 1994. The nursery employs 16 members of childcare staff. Of these, four hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 4, eight at level 3 and two at level 2. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday all year round, except for one week at Christmas. Sessions are from 8am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Type of provision

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

procedures set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Type of provision

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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