Little Owls (Scunthorpe South)

Inspection of Little Owls (Scunthorpe South) Dragonby Road, Scunthorpe DN17 2LD

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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The provision is outstanding

The management and staff are dedicated to providing high-quality, inclusive care and education for all children. They strive to constantly enhance all areas of practice to the highest possible level. Staff focus on building excellent relationships with children and parents when children begin at the nursery. Children are extremely happy. They anticipate the day ahead with great enthusiasm as they arrive at the nursery. Children form exceptionally close bonds with staff, who are calm, nurturing and skilful practitioners. Staff ensure that the environment is inviting and safe. They encourage children to make free choices about where they learn and play.

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The provision is outstanding

Children demonstrate a huge desire to explore and learn. Their learning is fully extended as staff join in with their play to challenge their thinking and develop their problem-solving abilities. Babies show very high levels of curiosity as they discover the sounds made by different musical instruments. They enjoy songs and nursery rhymes. Children persevere and show great determination to succeed at tasks. They learn to communicate very well and enjoy experimenting with different sounds. They change their voice and imitate the sounds that animals make while watching their reflection in the mirrors and describing what their voice sounds like. Children behave exceptionally well and develop firm friendships with each other. Staff sensitively help children to express their feelings. All staff share consistently high expectations for children's learning. They have a shared vision to help children to grow into confident, independent, kind and helpful individuals. Staff are

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The provision is outstanding

enthusiastic throughout the nursery, which helps children to flourish.

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need to do better?

n The manager encourages a reflective culture. This motivates and empowers all staff to look for ways to extend the experiences they give children. Staff closely monitor children's progress and follow their emerging interests. This includes what they have been doing at home, to improve outcomes further for children. Staff use this information to deliver an exceptional curriculum and a learning environment in which children thrive. They plan for what each child needs to learn next and help them to make the best possible progress. n Staff are skilled at interacting with children. Children consistently learn and use new vocabulary throughout their play. Staff continue to enhance children's pronunciation of sounds by repeating words back to them, which increases their confidence. Children develop excellent communication, language and literacy skills. n Children are offered an inspiring range of activities that quickly capture their

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need to do better?

interest. They are confident and display a can-do attitude. Children are extremely keen to enjoy the outdoor environment, where they engage in

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need to do better?

29 April 2022 pretend play, such as in the well-resourced mud kitchen. n Children show that they are successful learners as they construct a castle in the sand tray. They work together harmoniously to mix natural materials and use these as 'bonding'. They decide how to make an effective consistency of the dry sand by adding more water. Staff support children to explain why their mixture will make their castle even stronger. Children listen to and take account of the ideas which other children contribute. n Staff plan group activities to further develop children's current knowledge and to introduce more formal learning in preparation for their move on to school. For instance, children actively take turns to self-register by linking the photo to their written name. Younger children are encouraged to sound out the initial letter of their name. Children take turns to talk about the weather. They acquire superb

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need to do better?

listening and concentration skills as they discuss the days of the week and what activities are in the nursery. n Staff help children to develop control and coordination and to build confidence in their own abilities. Staff plan regular cooking sessions and thoughtfully planned activities, such as jigsaws, threading and using malleable resources, which helps children to develop their early writing skills. n Leaders and managers strongly value their staff team. They ensure that staff have manageable workloads to enable them to feel continually happy and motivated in their roles. Self-evaluation is highly accurate and focuses on continually improving outcomes for the children. Frequent evaluations of practice and purposeful supervision meetings are aimed at enriching staff's expert knowledge and practice. Managers ensure that staff receive meaningful training opportunities, for example around promoting children's positive behaviour.

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need to do better?

n A collaborative and cohesive approach is used very successfully. Communication with parents is highly effective. They receive regular communication through daily updates on an online app and private social media pages. Parents speak highly of the nursery and describe how settled and happy their children are. Parents describe the nursery as 'fabulous' and say that leaders and staff are 'amazing'. They add that staff go above and beyond to support their children with their learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Managers and staff have a robust knowledge of child protection issues. They know to take prompt action should they have any concerns about children's welfare. Staff get to know children and their families extremely well. This helps staff to initiate early help strategies to support them in times of need. Staff have a very good understanding of the signs that may indicate that a child is at risk of harm, including from radical and extreme views. Managers follow robust recruitment procedures to ensure the suitability of all staff. Staff are clear on what to do if they have a concern about the conduct of a colleague.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY484073 Local authority North Lincolnshire Inspection number 10229717 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 24 Number of children on roll 63 Name of registered person Little Owls (Scunthorpe) Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 01724 281050 Date of previous inspection 5 October 2016

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Information about this early years setting

Little Owls (Scunthorpe South) registered in 2014. The nursery employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, six hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, and two hold early years teacher status. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday during term time. Sessions are from 9am until 5pm. 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 nursery 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 nursery. n The early years teacher and the inspector had a learning walk together to understand how the early years provision and the curriculum are organised. n A joint observation of an activity was carried out by the early years teacher and the inspector. n The inspector held a meeting with the provider and the early years teacher. This included a review of relevant documentation, including evidence of staff's suitability and training. n The inspector observed interactions between staff and children during activities and assessed the impact of teaching on children's learning. n The inspector spoke to staff and parents at appropriate times during the inspection.

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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

29 April 2022 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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