Little Journeys Day Nursery

Inspection of Little Journeys Day Nursery Sutton Cricket Club, 168a New Street, St. Helens, Lancashire WA9 3UU

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not applicable

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The provision is good

Children are happy, safe and secure. They have good bonds with staff and eagerly involve adults in their play. Children confidently make decisions about what they want to play with and learn. For example, they decide they want to draw a butterfly and later announce that they want to cut out a butterfly mask. They gain a sense of responsibility and recreate familiar experiences of growing caterpillars to butterflies through their play. Children are keen to learn and show their interest in the activities provided. They develop a love of books as they share stories with staff, talking about the characters. For example, children identify and describe the food found in their story and enthusiastically recall the new word 'cocoon'.

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The provision is good

Children are kind and caring towards each other. They help their friends to find their coats. Children behave well and staff have high expectations of them. Staff support them to settle after closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff know children well and have strong relationships with them. Babies approach staff for reassurance, snuggling into them. Staff talk to children about family events and sing favourite songs and rhymes as they eat lunch together.

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need to do better?

n Staff provide a broad, varied early years curriculum. The learning experiences are, generally, exciting and engage children, who spend long periods of time concentrating on what they are doing. Staff plan group activities outdoors for children to focus on specific skills that they need to learn. However, staff, at times, do not recognise when a planned activity links directly with a child's current learning goal. As a result, children move away and do not get the best learning experiences possible. n The provider and manager conduct regular supervision meetings with the staff. These meetings are used to consider ways in which staff can develop and identify what they are doing well. The management team encourage staff to observe and evaluate one another to help identify any possible areas for development. However, there are some small gaps in staff's knowledge, which have not been identified. n Staff have a detailed knowledge of each child. They know what they want

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need to do better?

children to learn in the long term and use their observations and assessments of children well to inform planning. They identified where children needed additional support as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. They planned specific activities to successfully help children to catch up in their learning, particularly in communication and language. n Children listen carefully to staff and show that they are independent. For example, older children hang their coats and bags on individual pegs and are resilient when they try to put on their own coats. Babies learn to feed

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need to do better?

22 October 2021 themselves and are encouraged to make choices about what they play with. n Children learn to follow healthy lifestyles. Staff provide healthy, home-cooked food and make sure that drinking water is readily available for children. They cater for children's individual dietary needs and allergies. Staff plan opportunities for children to plant their own flowers and vegetables and care for the nursery snails. n Staff encourage children to take appropriate risks. For example, when babies are experimenting with how their bodies can move, staff ensure the area around them is safe. They hold their hands as they move from side to side and attempt to explore the sensory play with their whole bodies. n Staff support children's emotional development well. They work closely with parents and have effective systems in place to have discussions about children's achievements at home and at the nursery. They effectively prepare children for

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need to do better?

changes in their lives, such as having a new baby at home and their move to school. This helps to provide continuity and supports their continued learning at home. n Parents fully recommend the nursery. They appreciate the close contact and regular communication they receive. Parents particularly appreciate how happy and eager to learn their children are. They welcome the good guidance that staff provide and say they are 'welcoming and approachable'.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff demonstrate a secure understanding of how to keep children safe. They have regular opportunities, through staff meetings, to go through procedures and examples to keep their knowledge of safeguarding issues updated. The provider follows robust recruitment procedures to ensure staff suitability and has effective procedures for managing visitors to the nursery, to keep children safe. The provider and staff have a good understanding of how to protect children and understand the procedures to follow if they identify any concerns about a child's welfare. The provider has effective procedures to follow in the event of allegations being made about a member of staff. Staff know how to report concerns about the conduct of a colleague.

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should:

n support staff to ensure that their interactions consistently promote children's individual developmental needs within group activities and outdoor play n sharpen systems in place to identify areas of development for staff, targeting any gaps in their knowledge and further building upon their understanding of the curriculum they deliver.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY562856 Local authority St Helens Inspection number 10191134 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 36 Number of children on roll 15 Name of registered person Little Journeys Day Nursery Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 07956260127 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Little Journeys Day Nursery registered in 2018. It is located in the grounds of Sutton Cricket Club, St Helens. It operates Monday to Friday between 7.30am to 6pm all year round. There are three members of staff including the owner and manager, of whom two hold a relevant qualification at level 3 or above. The owner has a level 6 qualification. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the provider received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The inspector spoke with staff, parents and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection. n A learning walk was completed with the provider to discuss the curriculum intent and how the provision is organised. n The inspector completed a joint evaluation of an activity with the provider. n The inspector held a meeting with the provider. She reviewed a variety of documents, including evidence of the suitability of staff, qualifications, first-aid certificates and policies. n The inspector observed interactions between staff and children during activities and assessed the impact of teaching on children's learning.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection 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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Inspection activities

22 October 2021 regulates and inspects to 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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