Little Lambs Nursery

Inspection of Little Lambs Nursery 771 Blackburn Road, BOLTON BL1 7JL

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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

Children demonstrate extremely high levels of interest and joy when they arrive at the safe, nurturing and well-resourced environment. They quickly become engrossed in a catalogue of stimulating and carefully planned experiences. Children make rapid progress in their all-round development. They demonstrate determination and problem-solving skills. Children hand pump water and work out the fastest route to the 'riverbed'. Children build dams to re-direct water using rocks of varying shapes and size. Additionally, they gain historical knowledge as they curiously handle items from the past, such as an old radio and telephone. Children ask intellectual questions that help them gain precise information and build their knowledge further. They are in awe during their play.

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The provision is outstanding

Children have secure bonds with all staff, and close friendships with peers. They share special events, such as birthdays, and listen to each other intently during group storytelling activities. Children are very confident and emotionally secure. They regularly take part in mindfulness and well-being sessions. This helps children regulate their feelings extremely well. As a result, the learning environment is calm and approachable for all children. They flourish and gain an abundance of knowledge and skills to take into their future education, such as starting school.

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The provision is outstanding

Staff kept in regular contact with families during the COVID-19 pandemic. This significantly helped support children's and parent's well-being. Additionally, this enabled learning to continue at home through staff's creative ideas. For example, videos and messages were sent to parents, linking to children's interests and next steps in their development. Children continued to make progress and they settled with ease back into the setting when restrictions lifted.

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need to do better?

n Leaders and staff plan and deliver a meticulous curriculum that is highly focused on each child's assessed developmental needs. Children rapidly gain new skills and show especially positive attitudes towards learning. They make exceptional progress and build on learning. For example, children build castles for soldiers and make intricate items for royal tea parties. Children link their learning to recent experiences of The Queen's Platinum Jubilee. n Staff's spoken language is clear and concise. Their enthusiastic modelling of words and grammar helps children to listen and, in turn, speak with immense clarity and depth. Babies begin their communication journey through visual aids, songs and sounds in their environment. They smile and laugh as they sing and sign to each other. n Children show impressive literacy skills within their play. They manipulate materials to create intricate models. This demonstrates they have the vital

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need to do better?

8 June 2022 muscle strength in their hands for early writing. Additionally, they confidently talk about their creations and the characters they have made. Children love stories and handling books from a young age. They can retell events through role play with great enthusiasm. n Children are encouraged to converse and share their thoughts, knowing they will be valued. Staff nurture children's ability to respect other people. For example, they use stories that represent uniqueness and provide experiences to learn about many cultures. Children form new friendships with ease and are accepting of others. n Leaders and staff are knowledgeable and highly skilled within their job roles. They use their superb teaching strategies to provide children with the most stimulating and challenging activities. Staff adapt their input in order to provoke deep thinking from children. This helps children solve problems independently

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need to do better?

and retain information from each experience. n Leaders evaluate the setting with precision. There are clear improvement targets in place, which are tailored to raising outcomes for all children. In addition, the provider is building even closer relationships with nearby settings, in order to share training, knowledge and attainment expectations for children within the community. This helps practitioners form more accurate and consistent assessments of children, ensuring gaps are not missed. n Staff well-being is paramount to the provider. She works rigorously to ensure they are happy in their workplace and to help their passion for education to increase even further. Staff access a wide range of training that suits their learning styles. As a result, they gain even further knowledge and skills that consistently improve outcomes for children. Furthermore, staff express their happiness within their job role and increased passion to help children achieve

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need to do better?

their full potential. n Parents are heavily involved in their children's development journey. They are regularly invited to interactive sessions and are offered resource packs to help them continue learning at home. Parents' views are consistently sought and used to help develop the setting further. They are overwhelmed with the support and care their children receive and love the wealth of experiences on offer. n Staff swiftly help children with developmental delays to catch up. For example, they found that since the COVID-19 pandemic, younger children's physical development has been affected. Consequently, staff provide a large range of opportunities for children to enhance mobility and body movements. All children are extremely active during the day and experience a broad range of exercise, such as swimming.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff confidently demonstrate how to keep children safe and promote their well- being. They know how to recognise and respond swiftly to potential safeguarding concerns. Staff have secure knowledge about the wide range of risks children may

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Safeguarding

8 June 2022 face in their communities and as they progress through life, such as exploitation and cyber abuse. Staff undertake a range of pertinent training that broadens their knowledge about child protection. Furthermore, the provider is passionate about working with external professionals to enhance safeguarding knowledge even further. Robust risk assessments are in place to ensure the setting is safe and secure at all times. Children learn how to manage their own risk and gain confidence to attempt new tasks safely. For example, they have learned how to climb ladders to reach higher levels when they build tall towers. Additionally, they identify and remove trip hazards in the outdoor area.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY425857 Local authority Bolton Inspection number 10235536 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

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

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inspection

Total number of places 50 Number of children on roll 91 Name of registered person North House Children's Nursery Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 01204419955 Date of previous inspection 5 December 2016

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Information about this early years setting

Little Lambs Nursery registered in 2018. The nursery employs 17 members of childcare staff. Of these, 14 staff hold recognised early years qualifications at level 3 or above. The nursery opens Monday to Friday. Sessions are from 7.30am to 6pm. 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 setting 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 setting. n The inspector and the provider completed a learning walk around all areas of the setting to understand how the early years provision and curriculum are organised. n Parents' verbal and written views were taken account of by the inspector. n The inspector observed the interactions between staff and children, and assessed the impact that this is having on children's care, learning and development. A joint observation was completed with the provider, staff and the inspector. n Leaders, staff and children held discussions with the inspector at suitable 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

8 June 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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