Little Whits nursery

Inspection of Little Whits nursery Whitgift Sports Club, The Clubhouse, Croham Manor Road, South Croydon CR2 7BG

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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

Staff build meaningful bonds with children and families. This begins from children's settling-in period, which staff tailor to meet children's individual needs. Children start the nursery feeling happy and ready to be part of nursery life. Staff provide a varied curriculum filled with interesting activities and experiences that children are eager to explore. Staff inspire children's creativity. For instance, children create aliens from dough as part of their space theme. Children develop good fine motor skills. For example, they use rolling pins and their hands to mould dough.

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The provision is good

Children are motivated to learn and make good progress in their development. Staff ensure that children have daily opportunities to be outdoors. Children access a broad range of resources, such as wheeled toys, balls, hoops and stepping buckets. They develop their balance and coordination, such as when they manoeuvre from bucket to bucket. This helps to strengthen their large motor skills and to gain spatial awareness.

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The provision is good

Children's behaviour is good. Staff are calm and consistent in their approach to managing children's behaviour. They positively nurture children's confidence and self-esteem with lots of praise. Staff provide children with good opportunities to develop and improve their mathematical skills. They encourage children to count the number of googly eyes on their aliens, and children access rulers on the writing table.

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need to do better?

n Children have ample opportunities throughout the year to learn about different countries, traditions and events beyond their own. Staff have introduced Chinese New Year, Christmas, Black History Month and Diwali to children, who take part in a range of creative activities. Children also explore positive cultural images through stories and resources. They learn to value each other's differences and similarities. n Staff are proactive in promoting children's love of books in fun ways. They create playful interactive story trays with props from focused books. For example, children recreate a baby bear's experience of going to the moon. Staff promote children's literacy further through providing a range of resources to promote their mark-making skills. Children confidently use pencils and rulers to create marks. n Children enjoy using their imaginations in the well-resourced home-corner area. They busily take on different roles seen at home. For example, children pretend

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need to do better?

to iron clothes, prepare meals and take dolls out for walks in buggies around the hall. Children use magnetic shapes to create a range of patterns and models. As they play, staff promote and expand their knowledge of shapes, size and

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need to do better?

15 May 2024 colours. n Children benefit from healthy snacks and hot meals which are balanced and nutritious. Mealtimes are a communal event where children sit in small groups. However, staff do not position younger children effectively to encourage their social skills and abilities. n Staff plan good support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or gaps in their development. They work in close partnerships with parents and a range of other professionals to put plans in place to support children to reach their full potential. n Parents are highly complimentary of the nursery and staff. They comment that key persons regularly share information with them about their child's learning and development on online systems. Parents say that since their children have attended the nursery, their language, social skills and confidence have increased. n Staff promote children's communication and language well. Children have daily

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need to do better?

opportunities to listen to stories and revel in answering questions as they recall what was read. Younger children delight in singing songs as they access musical instruments. Staff use and introduce lots of new words that help children to build a wide vocabulary. For example, while children access dough, staff use words such as 'flatten', 'press' and 'roll'. n The management team implements a number of strategies to promote staff's ongoing professional development. For example, staff have regular supervision sessions and attend meetings. However, the management team does not focus staff's training opportunities sharply on raising the quality of education to the highest level.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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should:

n promote younger children's independence during mealtime routines to encourage their social skills even further n focus staff's professional development on targeting and strengthening teaching skills to further improve outcomes for children.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2652788 Local authority Croydon Inspection number 10347106 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 42 Number of children on roll 22 Name of registered person Little Whits Nursery Partnership

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reference number

Telephone number 07913657115 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Little Whits nursery registered in 2022 and is located in the London Borough of Croydon. It operates all year round, from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery is in receipt of funding to provide early years education to children aged two, three and four years. It employs six members of staff. Of these, four hold relevant qualifications at level 2 or 3.

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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 manager and has taken that into account in the evaluation of the nursery. n The manager and the inspector completed a learning walk together. n The inspector observed the quality of education, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact on children's learning. n The manager and the inspector conducted a joint observation. n Parents spoken to shared their views of the nursery with the inspector. n The inspector held several discussions with staff and children 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

15 May 2024 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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