Little Plums Nursery Long Eaton

Little Plums Nursery Long Eaton

Unique reference number (URN): 2787858 Address: 126 Nottingham Road, Long Eaton, Nottingham, NG10 2BZ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 10/05/2024 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Long Eaton House Limited

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children make steady progress across the curriculum from their individual starting points and develop the knowledge and skills needed for later learning. Babies make progress in their physical development as they learn to pull themselves up, cruise around furniture and explore their environment with increasing confidence. They begin to develop early communication skills as they babble during songs, respond to rhythm and use gestures to communicate their needs.

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Achievement Expected standard

Toddlers build their independence and problem-solving skills as they explore activities, such as filling, pouring, transporting and engaging in sensory play. They learn to take turns, share resources and begin to develop friendships through supported play experiences.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pre-school children develop increasing confidence in expressing their ideas, managing routines and engaging in imaginative play, for example, when creating play dough pizzas with toppings of their choice. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those facing barriers to learning make steady progress because staff adapt experiences and provide targeted support to meet their needs. Children develop the personal, social, emotional and practical skills needed for their next stage of learning and are ready for their transition to school, when the time comes.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders have established a calm and nurturing environment, where expectations for behaviour are clear and appropriate for children's ages and stages of development. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure, showing positive attitudes to learning and confidence in exploring the environment. Warm and caring relationships between staff and children are evident across the setting, with children seeking comfort and reassurance from familiar adults, when needed, particularly in the baby room where children confidently snuggle with staff if unsure of visitors.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Staff support children to learn how to take turns, share resources and play cooperatively with one another. For example, during sand play, toddlers are supported to take turns using scoops and containers, with staff modelling sharing and encouraging children to wait while others complete their turn. Children with additional needs are supported well through adapted strategies, including the use of visual cues to help them understand expectations, routines and transitions throughout the day.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders and staff work effectively with families to support behaviour and establish routines, where additional support is needed. Attendance is monitored closely, and leaders take proactive steps to work with families where concerns arise, including adapting session times to improve attendance and engagement for individual children where appropriate. As a result, children develop increasing independence, confidence and the personal skills needed to manage routines and prepare for future learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children's welfare and wellbeing are securely promoted across the setting. Leaders have created a calm, inclusive environment, where children are supported to feel safe and emotionally secure. Staff build positive relationships with children, and key persons provide consistent care that supports children's developing sense of belonging and confidence.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

In the baby room, highly nurturing interactions and a rich sensory environment support secure attachments and emotional wellbeing. Babies show clear signs of trust in familiar adults, often seeking comfort and reassurance. Care routines are responsive and well matched to individual needs, helping babies feel safe, settled and emotionally secure throughout the day.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children access a broad range of engaging activities that support exploration, physical development and healthy lifestyles. They confidently use the outdoor environment, running in the garden, climbing steps, sliding, crawling through tunnels and walking across balance beams and stepping stones. These experiences promote coordination, balance and resilience effectively. Children are also beginning to develop an understanding of healthy lifestyles and food production, showing delight when talking about growing vegetables that they will later eat.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children are supported to begin to recognise and express their emotions, with practitioners providing calm and reassuring interactions that help them regulate feelings and build confidence. Relationships across the setting are supportive of children's wellbeing. Parents report very positive relationships with staff and feel well informed about their children's care and development, contributing to a shared understanding of children's needs and progress.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have established clear intentions of what they would like each age group to achieve as they move through the nursery. These demonstrate how the curriculum is sequenced towards the end goal of developing independent, curious and articulate children, who are ready for their move to school. The curriculum is generally planned around this intent, with play-based experiences and activities that reflect children's interests and developmental needs.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff generally implement the curriculum well, planning engaging opportunities that build on what children already know and can do. Assessment is used appropriately to identify children's emerging needs, and staff demonstrate a secure understanding of children's individual next steps, enabling them to adapt activities and experiences to support progression. Staff know the children well and use this knowledge to provide a broad range of learning experiences across all areas of learning. Children's personal, social, emotional and physical development are prioritised effectively through nurturing routines, practical experiences and opportunities for exploration.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Adaptations are made to support children with additional needs, enabling them to access learning alongside their peers. Children enjoy looking at books independently and sharing stories together. When staff read, they do so with confidence and animation, capturing children's interest effectively. Children benefit from access to a lending library that promotes reading at home. However, books and stories are not yet used strategically enough across the curriculum to consistently build children's vocabulary, deepen understanding and strengthen links between texts and wider learning experiences. This requires a sharper focus.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children enjoy positive relationships with staff and show they are happy and feel secure within the environment. However, adult interactions do not consistently maximise opportunities to extend children's communication and language development. At times, staff do not routinely narrate play or model language to support children's understanding, and questioning is not always purposeful enough to deepen children's thinking or extend their vocabulary.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders foster a caring and inclusive culture, where children's individual needs are identified promptly through observation, assessment and close partnership with families. Staff demonstrate a secure understanding of children's developmental starting points. They use this information to recognise children's emerging needs quickly, including those linked to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Individual support plans are used effectively, and the setting's approach to supporting additional needs is embedded well in practice.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Generally, staff adapt the curriculum appropriately and break children's learning into small, achievable steps so that children can access activities successfully and make steady progress in their development. Visual resources and cues are used effectively to help children understand routines, know what is happening now and what will happen next, and support emotional regulation and independence.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders and staff work closely with external professionals to seek advice, guidance and additional support where needed. They ensure that strategies are informed by specialist input and tailored to individual children. Leaders use funding appropriately to provide additional resources and adaptations that support children's access, inclusion and development. Children known to social care and those experiencing difficulties at home receive sensitive and responsive support. Leaders demonstrate professional curiosity and effective partnership working with safeguarding agencies.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff plan children's transitions to school well. They give children opportunities to talk about their feelings, develop familiarity with routines and expectations, and ask questions about moving on. Staff work effectively with receiving schools to share relevant information and promote continuity in children's learning and care.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have a clear and accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for development. They have successfully designed and implemented an ambitious curriculum that staff know and generally understand well. Recent changes within a relatively new staff team have been well managed, with a strong focus on safer recruitment and the completion of mandatory training, helping to establish a secure and compliant foundation for practice. Professional development is in place but is not yet sufficiently targeted to refine specific aspects of practice, such as the quality of adult-child interactions. Leaders are aware that this is an area for further development and are beginning to focus improvement planning more precisely on the quality of teaching and learning.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders take appropriate decisions in the best interests of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and additional vulnerabilities, ensuring that effective support is in place where needed. They also demonstrate consideration of staff wellbeing and workload, particularly in the context of a developing team.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Partnership working with parents is positive, with leaders maintaining open communication and accessible relationships. Leaders show commitment, reflective capacity and ambition to continue improving outcomes for all children.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children arrive happily and separate confidently from their carers, quickly settling into familiar routines that help them feel safe, secure and ready to learn. They demonstrate independence from the start of the day, hanging up their belongings on their allocated peg, selecting resources and engaging in activities with minimal support. Relationships with staff are warm and trusting, reflecting secure attachment. Children are kind and considerate, and interactions between peers show early sharing and turn-taking skills developing well.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Babies show sustained engagement during carefully planned sensory experiences. They explore shiny objects, nesting resources and cause-and-effect toys, banging, stacking and posting items with clear curiosity. In a highly engaging, 'What's in the box?' singing activity, babies eagerly select objects linked to familiar songs. They bounce and giggle, showing anticipation as they wait their turn. They respond with enjoyment to singing and rhymes, often moving rhythmically and babbling in response to familiar sounds.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children thrive with responsibility throughout the setting. They help set up activities, support tidy-up routines and assist with preparing for mealtimes, developing independence and pride in their environment. Mealtimes are calm, social occasions, where children enjoy nutritious, home-cooked food and engage in relaxed conversation, often speaking fondly about the nursery cook and their favourite meals.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Parents are welcomed into the setting and speak very positively about their experiences. Daily handovers are detailed and informative, ensuring families are kept well informed about their child's day, progress and wellbeing. This secure communication supports consistency between home and setting. All children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to learning, achieve well from their starting points. Children are well prepared for school. Leaders are aware of the benefits of good attendance and they support it well.

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Next steps

Leaders should support staff so that their interactions with children consistently support and extend children's language development even further. Leaders should strengthen staff practice through coaching, mentoring and support arrangements so that high-quality teaching is consistently embedded across the nursery. Leaders should place a sharper focus on using books and stories more systematically to develop children's knowledge, broaden vocabulary and support imagination, enabling children to build on and deepen what they already know and can do.

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Address:

126 Nottingham Road, Long Eaton Nottingham NG10 2BZ

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Long Eaton House Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, parents/carers and children during the inspection.

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About this inspection

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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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk . Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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