Little Oaks Day Nursery & Pre-School

Inspection of Little Oaks Day Nursery & Pre-School 16 Oakfield Road, Kingswood, Bristol BS15 8NT

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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 are happy and thrive at the nursery. They form strong bonds with caring and attentive staff. Staff ensure children's emotional needs are met, which helps children to settle quickly and feel confident to explore. Staff plan an ambitious curriculum based on what children already know and need to learn next. Children behave very well as staff support all children to play together. For instance, staff encourage babies and young children to take turns. Children are confident communicators and develop good social skills. They happily chat to their friends and staff, demonstrating a strong sense of self as they talk about family members and pets. They keenly introduce themselves to visitors and ask their name. Staff encourage good manners and offer children regular praise. As a result, children show positive attitudes to learning. Staff take opportunities to extend and reinforce children's knowledge. For instance, after reading a story about a hungry caterpillar,

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The provision is good

staff ask, 'Why should we eat fruit?' Children eagerly reply, 'To make us strong!'

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The provision is good

All children make good progress, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those in receipt of additional funding. The manager uses funding effectively to support children's individual learning needs. Staff link with schools, parents and other professionals to promote the best possible outcomes for all children.

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need to do better?

n The leadership and management of the setting are strong. The manager values her dedicated staff. She meets with them regularly, both individually and as a team. The manager encourages staff to reflect on their practice and ensures they have access to regular training to strengthen their knowledge and skills. The manager places a strong focus on the well-being of staff. She knows that it is important to promote team morale to provide a harmonious learning environment for children. n Staff closely monitor children's progress. They take swift action to close any emerging gaps in children's learning and development. The knowledgeable special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) helps staff to support children with SEND well. Staff use strategies such as visual aids to help children follow routines and communicate their needs. Staff act on advice from other professionals to successfully implement children's individualised learning plans

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need to do better?

successfully. They have a strong partnership with the local school and share information with Reception teachers to ensure children's smooth transition to school when the time comes. n Staff support children's communication skills well. They provide interesting learning experiences that stimulate children's curiosity and language skills. For example, older children show their awe and wonder about the world as they

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need to do better?

3 July 2024 learn about butterflies. Children are eager to find out more and ask staff, 'Did the butterfly pop out of the caterpillar's chest?'. Staff read stories to babies with props to engage their attention. Staff encourage them to copy animal sounds, and babies excitedly respond with 'quack-quack'. However, on occasions, staff working with babies speak too quickly and repeatedly use long sentences. This does not always help babies to understand and acquire new words to further develop their vocabulary. n Staff plan group learning experiences to teach children new skills. For instance, they help children to learn some letter sounds to support their early literacy skills. However, staff do not always consider the varying abilities of children when leading the group activity. This means that some children struggle to engage fully because the learning activity is beyond their stage of development. n Staff support all children to become independent. They encourage babies to feed

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need to do better?

themselves finger food and support younger children to use cutlery at mealtimes. Older children learn how to put on their coats and shoes and take care of their belongings. This helps children to develop valuable skills for the future. n Partnerships with parents are strong. On induction, staff seek information from parents about children and learn about care routines at home. This enables staff to ensure continuity in care for children at the setting. Parents are highly complimentary about the staff team. They feel well informed about their child's progress and value the collaborative relationship they have with staff. Parents are impressed with how well staff prepare children for the move to school but also comment, 'I wish my child could stay at the nursery forever'.

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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 the children's interests first.

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should:

n strengthen staff's interactions in the baby room to help the youngest children to understand and acquire new words to support their growing vocabulary n support staff to recognise the varying abilities of children when implementing group activities so that teaching is developmentally appropriate and supports all children to make the best possible progress.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY435470 Local authority South Gloucestershire Inspection number 10351135 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 66 Number of children on roll 115 Name of registered person Nurseries Southwest Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 01179673649 Date of previous inspection 9 October 2018

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Information about this early years setting

Little Oaks Day Nursery and Pre-School registered in 2012. The setting opens each weekday from 7.30am until 6pm. The setting employs 21 members of staff. Of these, one holds a relevant qualification at level 6, 11 are qualified to level 3 and three hold qualifications at level 2. The setting provides funded early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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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 manager joined the inspector on a learning walk and talked to the inspector about their curriculum and what they want children to learn. n The inspector spoke to staff at convenient times during the inspection. n The SENCo spoke to the inspector about how they support children with SEND. n The inspector observed interactions between staff and children. n The inspector spoke to children to find out about their time at the setting. n The manager and the inspector carried out a joint observation of teaching together. n The inspector spoke to several parents during the inspection and took account of their views. n The manager showed the inspector documentation on the suitability 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

3 July 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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