Little Firs Day Nursery

Inspection of Little Firs Day Nursery Conifers Primary School, Radipole Lane, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 0QF

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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 Good

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The provision is good

Children arrive happily and settle quickly at this friendly and welcoming nursery. They share warm and close relationships with staff, which helps them to feel safe and secure. For example, babies enjoy lots of cuddles and warm interactions with the staff that care for them. Toddlers and pre-school children follow familiar routines. Children have many opportunities to develop their physical skills and spend much of their time outside, where they make independent choices about their play. Children develop good coordination as they practise their balancing and jumping and enjoy sand and water play. Babies and younger children are supported well by staff to master the skill of climbing the steps to go down a slide. Children are very well behaved.

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The provision is good

Children benefit from a broad and varied curriculum. All children make good progress from their individual starting points. Staff quickly identify any children that need additional help and, in close liaison with the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo), provide targeted support to help children make progress. Staff have high expectations for all children and focus the curriculum on children's individual interests to engage them successfully in their learning. Staff know the children well and work closely with parents and other agencies to ensure a shared approach.

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need to do better?

n Children focus well and demonstrate good concentration because they are interested in the wide range of learning opportunities provided. Older children enjoy exploring and identifying different musical instruments and the sounds that they make. Staff skilfully encourage children's curiosity as they search the internet to match pictures of instruments and find their correct name. This helps to enhance children's knowledge. n Staff know what they want children to learn next and are clear on how to help them achieve this. They gather information from parents and make their own observations of children's progress. This enables them to provide specific activities to support children's learning. For example, staff read children stories and they look at books together. Staff talk to the children about the characters in the story and encourage them to talk about the pictures. This supports their communication and language effectively.

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need to do better?

n Staff introduce counting and identify colours in routines and activities. Staff encourage pre-school children to recognise their name and label their artwork for them. However, children do not have many opportunities to begin to link letters to the sounds that they make. n Staff plan a broad range of adult-led activities with a clear learning intent. However, occasionally, some staff focus too much on one area of the curriculum

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need to do better?

28 June 2023 during adult-led activities and do not make the most of opportunities to extend children's learning further or build on children's vocabulary. n Staff are consistent in the way that they manage children's behaviour. They encourage children to share and take turns and help them to understand why this is important. They give children the skills that they need to negotiate for themselves and remind children to use 'kind hands', when necessary. As a result, children build good friendships and play together happily. For example, children pretend to be builders. They draw maps and together explore in the garden to find the items they have drawn. n Children benefit from learning about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. They enjoy nutritious and balanced meals provided by the on-site cook. They enjoy healthy snacks of fruit and engage in lively conversations with staff about healthy eating. n Leaders and managers provide strong leadership for the staff team. They

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need to do better?

provide coaching and regular opportunities for staff to complete training to develop their knowledge and professional practice. For instance, staff learn sign language to further support those children who are less able to communicate verbally. They complete training that includes developing positive behaviour management strategies. This has increased children's personal, social, and emotional well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff have good knowledge of child protection issues and a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities to keep children safe. They can recognise the signs or symptoms that may be a cause for concern and know the correct reporting procedure to follow. They also know what to do if they have concerns about the conduct of one of their colleagues. They carry out thorough risk assessments and supervise children appropriately to ensure that they can play in a safe and secure environment.

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should:

n provide more opportunities for older children to link sounds to letters n develop the consistency of staff engagement during adult-led activities to build on children's vocabulary even further.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 141017 Local authority Dorset Inspection number 10299063 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 77 Number of children on roll 162 Name of registered person Little Firs Day Nursery Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 01305 782727 Date of previous inspection 23 January 2020

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Information about this early years setting

Little Firs Day Nursery, previously known as Westhaven Pre-School, registered under its current name in 2009. The group operates from purpose-built premises in the grounds of Conifers Primary School, Weymouth. The nursery is open from 7.30am until 6pm on each weekday, for 50 weeks of the year, excluding bank holidays. The nursery is in receipt of funding to provide early years education for children aged two, three and four years. The nursery employs 23 staff. The manager and deputy both have early years teacher status. Most other members of staff are qualified to level 2 or above. There are two cooks employed.

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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 deputy manager joined the inspector on a learning walk. She talked about the nursery's curriculum and what she wants children to learn. n Parents shared their views of the setting with the inspector. n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided, inside and outside, and assessed the impact this was having on children's learning. n The deputy manager and the inspector completed a joint observation. n Children spoke with the inspector during the inspection. n The inspector held discussions with the deputy manager and the SENCo. She spoke to staff and took account of their views. n The inspector sampled relevant documentation and reviewed evidence of staff

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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

28 June 2023 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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