Little Thinkers @ Meon Way

Little Thinkers @ Meon Way

Unique reference number (URN): 2803268 Address: Shelford Road, Portsmouth, Hants, PO4 8PA Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 30/08/2024 Registers: EYR Registered person: Little Thinkers Pre-School & Nursery

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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

Typically, children achieve well and make progress from their starting points. Children confidently listen, respond and interact with others. They follow routines and talk about their feelings, while using resources such as emotion cards and stones. Children develop coordination and muscle strength through running and using ride-on toys. Children are generally well prepared for the next stage of learning. They demonstrate independence during arrival, hand-hygiene procedures and snack-time routines.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children show positive attitudes to learning. They develop an interest in books during story- time activities, experiment with mark making and practise counting in sequence. They also learn to respect the wider world. For instance, children help to clear rubbish from local beaches. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make adequate progress from their starting points. However, they are not always included well during group learning, alongside their peers. This means they do not always benefit fully from shared learning experiences or develop learning as securely as they could. Children who speak English as an additional language make suitable progress in communication and language.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders and staff are positive role models for children. They demonstrate positive behaviours through respectful language and manners. Leaders monitor practice through regular observations and provide feedback to staff. This supports the development of regular routines and expectations across the setting.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children learn and follow established routines. This helps them to feel secure and confident in the environment. On arrival, they identify their peg, put away their belongings and select activities before joining whole-group activities. Throughout the day, children follow familiar procedures, such as lining up, washing hands, serving drinks and choosing where to sit. They show kindness and responsibility, such as helping peers find seats and preparing resources for snack time. Generally, children demonstrate positive attitudes to learning, such as showing enjoyment as they create 'magic potions', during free play.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Staff are warm, nurturing and have established secure relationships with children. All children seek comfort and support from staff, when required. Leaders promote attendance through clear communication with parents and carers, sharing expectations and following up on any absences appropriately. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language, benefit from trusted relationships and some targeted support. Children generally engage well in activities. Overall, behaviour and routines are well established.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing through a well-established key-person system. This helps staff to build secure relationships with children and their families. Regular team meetings support staff to share information about children's needs. Mandatory training helps staff maintain a secure understanding of their safeguarding and welfare responsibilities.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children demonstrate that they feel safe and emotionally secure. They separate confidently from their parents and carers. They generally settle quickly into routines and interact positively with staff and peers. Children use resources linked to emotions to communicate how they are feeling and seek out reassurance from trusted adults. Warm and nurturing relationships help children develop a sense of belonging within the setting. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language are supported by staff who help them feel secure.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders typically promote healthy lifestyles. They provide healthy snacks, including fruit, and encourage families to provide balanced lunches. However, this remains an area for further development. Children benefit from regular opportunities for fresh air and exercise and develop secure hygiene routines, such as handwashing. Additionally, leaders work closely with staff and parents to minimise risks associated with food allergies and intolerances.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have designed a curriculum that is typically responsive to children's interests. They meet regularly with staff to review children's learning and development. They provide training, including support for special educational needs coordinators. Leaders monitor practice through observation and offer feedback to staff. This supports ongoing improvement.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The curriculum sets out clear intentions for what children should know and be able to do. For instance, children learn about life cycles while observing caterpillars, selecting favourite minibeasts from books and creating linked artwork. Communication and language are prioritised, particularly for children who speak English as an additional language (EAL). Mathematical learning is often embedded well through day-to-day opportunities, such as counting segments in oranges.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teaching is typically delivered through key-group activities. Staff model language and introduce new words such as 'opposite' and 'juicy' to support vocabulary development and understanding. Teaching supports learning across different areas of the curriculum. However, opportunities to extend children's thinking and deepen understanding are not always maximised. During play, staff's interactions are generally positive, although they are not always consistently effective in extending learning or promoting sustained play.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language are supported well in small-group activities, which promote communication and attention. Staff know these children well and provide appropriate support to help them take part in learning. While inclusion is generally positive, opportunities are not yet fully consistent across the setting, and provision is not always adapted precisely enough to ensure that learning builds securely over time for all children.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders gather information from parents and carers when children first start. They use observations and assessment to identify those who may need additional support. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who speak English as an additional language are identified promptly. Leaders work with parents and a range of professionals to reduce barriers to learning and wellbeing. Where needed, children benefit from timely referrals and targeted support.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Children with SEND are supported to take part in routines and learning. Key-worker groups and structured support to help develop attention skills, support these children to engage alongside their peers. Children build attachments with staff, which support their emotional wellbeing and help them settle and transition confidently. However, at times, teaching is not matched precisely enough to children's individual learning needs. Some activities move on too quickly, and staff do not always focus sharply on what children need to learn next. As a result, some children disengage from learning.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders make effective use of additional funding to support disadvantaged children. Funding is used to purchase resources linked to children's interests. This helps to strengthen engagement and supports play. Additionally, leaders work collaboratively with children's social care to support vulnerable children and families. Parents value the trusting relationships with staff.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The setting reflects the diverse community it serves. Children's home languages and cultures are valued and reflected in practice. For instance, children take part in sandwich- making activities, using ingredients from a range of cultural diets to celebrate the wider community.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have a secure understanding of the community they serve. They have created a welcoming and typically inclusive environment for children and families. They reflect on the quality of the provision through regular discussions with staff and feedback from parents and carers. Leaders have identified improving healthy lunch choices as a priority and are seeking further guidance from other settings who have success in this area.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The setting is a registered charity and part of a small family of nurseries. Senior leaders provide ongoing oversight and support through regular visits to the setting. Staff speak positively about the support they receive and comment that leaders are approachable and responsive to their wellbeing. Regular meetings help staff to evaluate their practice and manage their workload.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders support staff's professional development through training, such as around supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This has strengthened staff's understanding of inclusive practice and targeted support. However, leaders have not yet ensured that all staff consistently apply this knowledge to deliver teaching that is precisely matched to children's individual learning needs, including through well-sequenced and consistently delivered learning across the curriculum. Leaders have established positive partnerships with parents. Staff share children's learning and development through an online platform. Leaders have established close links with the local community. For instance, children benefit from intergenerational learning through visits to local care homes. This helps them develop respect and understanding of others.

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

Children arrive happily at the setting and separate confidently from their parents and carers. They are warmly welcomed by staff and quickly settle into daily routines, such as finding their peg and hanging their coats up. Staff work closely with families to promote good attendance. They provide support and guidance where needed. This helps children attend regularly and benefit fully from their learning experiences. Children calmly sit on the mat and join in with group greetings. They demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. They form warm relationships with staff and their peers and interact positively throughout the day.

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

Children enjoy their learning. They confidently choose activities and resources that interest them, such as outdoor play, bicycles and construction resources. Children show appropriate levels of engagement, as they build with blocks alongside their friends and sing enthusiastically during group times, for instance. They behave well and respond positively to staff's expectations. Children learn to take turns, share and cooperate. For instance, they wait patiently for their turn on bicycles and kindly invite others to sit beside them during snack routines.

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

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language, are typically included well in the setting. Children benefit from targeted support that helps them to take part in activities alongside their peers. For example, children engage well during specific intervention activities, which help to develop their attention, listening and communication skills. Staff use simple language, visual resources, such as emotion stones and cards, effectively to help children communicate their feelings and needs.

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

Children make typical progress from their starting points. Leaders work collaboratively with parents, carers and other professionals, including speech and language therapists and child development advisers. This helps reduce barriers to learning. Children develop the skills they need for their next stage in learning, including school. Families are welcomed warmly. Leaders build positive partnerships with them, such as signposting them to additional support services, where required.

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Little Thinkers Pre-School & Nursery

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 15:30

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that teaching is well sequenced and precisely focused so that learning builds securely on prior knowledge and enables children to develop a deeper understanding over time. Leaders should strengthen provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities so that learning is consistently well adapted to their needs and they are fully included in all aspects of learning.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, children, parents and carers 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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Facts and figures used on inspection

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

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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. 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

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Urgent improvement

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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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