Little Ducklings Topsham

Little Ducklings Topsham

Unique reference number (URN): 2672584 Address: St Margarets Church Rooms, 59 Fore Street, Topsham, Exeter, Devon, EX3 0HL Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 18/01/2022 Registers: EYR, CCR Registered person: Little Ducklings Nursery Devon Ltd

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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 Strong standard

All children, including those with potential barriers to their learning, make excellent progress from their starting points. Children rapidly develop the skills, knowledge and attitudes needed to progress as staff expertly support their individual needs. Babies in the room for younger children enthusiastically participate in familiar nursery rhymes, naming animals and the sounds they make, and enjoy sharing books with adults. They listen attentively, respond to familiar words and sounds and communicate their interests through a range of gestures and expressions. Older children confidently share known books with each other, demonstrating a love of reading and expressing themselves clearly and confidently.

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Achievement Strong standard

Across the setting, children express high levels of curiosity. They readily explore new experiences and revisit familiar activities to consolidate their learning, deepen their understanding and apply previously acquired skills with increasing independence. Babies show pride in their successes, smiling and clapping when successfully balancing on beams. Older children skilfully jump from the end of the beams and eagerly 'high-five' adults, demonstrating determination and a strong sense of achievement.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders have established a calm, happy environment where children know what to expect and, as a result, feel safe and secure throughout the day. Well-established and predictable routines help children settle quickly, understand expectations and move through the day with confidence. Children consistently follow the behavioural expectations of the setting, showing respect, kindness and consideration towards others. This reflects staff's constant modelling of positive age-appropriate behaviour and respectful relationships.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The relationships between staff and children are highly warm and nurturing, with babies feeling secure enough to explore and begin to gain independence. Staff show genuine care for all children. Their interactions are attentive and kind. As a result, children thrive in this nurturing environment and approach learning with enthusiasm. The purposeful learning experiences that staff provide keep children motivated and engaged. Children express themselves creatively through art, painting familiar subjects such as their families and applying new learning about farm animals to their artwork.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders promote attendance through regular monitoring and daily checking on children who do not arrive when expected. Leaders have established highly effective partnerships with parents, working with them to implement extended settling-in sessions where needed, ensuring that children feel emotionally secure, build trusting relationships and settle successfully into nursery life.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders and staff prioritise children's wellbeing, ensuring that children are well looked after in this attentive setting. Through their strong knowledge of children, staff swiftly identify verbal and non-verbal cues that indicate when children need help. They respond promptly, adapting experiences, routines and expectations to meet children's needs and promote their wellbeing. Staff help children to understand and regulate their emotions through gentle reassurance, sensitive explanations and choices that are appropriate to their stage of development.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Staff consistently meet children's care requirements, including those with identified additional needs. Care practices are highly respectful and sensitive to the needs of children. Staff gently sing to babies as they change them, smiling and soothingly explaining what they are going to do next during each step of the process. Older children are encouraged to independently wash their hands and are offered support and guidance if needed. Staff follow safe sleep and eating procedures consistently to ensure that children of all ages are safe.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children eat highly nutritious meals during well-established lunchtime routines that develop positive eating habits. Staff describe vegetables on children's plates and give gentle encouragement, allowing children to make independent healthy choices. Babies are encouraged to self-feed using spoons, further developing their self-care skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders have developed a highly ambitious and impactful curriculum that underpins all aspects of children's learning and development. Leaders and staff have a clear vision for the knowledge and skills children should acquire and sequence learning effectively to support this. The curriculum is tailored effectively to meet individual needs, ensuring that children who require additional support are fully included and able to access learning successfully.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Staff make excellent use of all interactions throughout the day to extend children's thinking, consolidate learning and deepen understanding. Their detailed knowledge of each child's development enables them to adapt experiences skilfully, ensuring that learning is both meaningful and purposeful and that children make excellent progress. For example, younger children develop early coordination and control as they pour and scoop pasta into containers. Staff then build on these emerging skills by encouraging older children to thread spaghetti through a colander, helping them develop the fine motor skills and precision required for future writing.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Physical development is prioritised throughout the setting. The environment is carefully designed to enable younger children to move independently and confidently, using handrails and appropriately positioned furniture for support as they develop their balance and coordination. Older children benefit from a range of opportunities to further develop their strength, control and spatial awareness, including navigating obstacle courses and riding wheeled toys.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders and staff are committed to ensuring that every child feels seen, heard and valued. Well-established relationships and a highly inclusive approach enable children to develop a secure sense of belonging. As a result, children are confident to participate, form positive relationships and engage fully in learning opportunities. Leaders are highly committed to ensuring that every child receives the support they need to succeed. Children's individual needs are identified promptly and assessed regularly, enabling leaders and staff to swiftly address any barriers to learning. Collaborative partnerships with families and external professionals ensure that provision is carefully tailored to children's strengths and developmental needs. Staff are highly skilled in adapting their interactions, teaching strategies and learning experiences to meet children's individual needs. As a result, children are fully included in the life of the setting and access the

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders and staff have a thorough understanding of child development and are highly effective at recognising emerging needs in toddlers. This enables timely intervention at the earliest opportunity, helping children to make the best possible progress from their starting points. Leaders develop personalised plans that reflect children's individual strengths and areas for development and monitor these closely to ensure they remain effective and continue to meet children's evolving needs.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders maintain clear oversight of the setting. They draw on their excellent knowledge of high-quality practice to regularly reflect on what is happening across the provision, seeking staff's views and insights to identify strengths and areas for improvement. As a result of this collaborative approach, staff feel extremely valued and strive to continuously enhance the quality of experiences and outcomes for children. Leaders regularly work with external agencies to further strengthen practice and ensure that children benefit from the latest research, guidance and approaches in early years education.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders foster strong partnerships with parents through open, effective and regular communication. They work closely with families to ensure that parents are well informed about their children's experiences and progress. Leaders are passionate about helping children become active members of their local community and provide a range of meaningful opportunities to achieve this, including regular visits to local care homes. These experiences help children develop empathy, respect for others and a strong sense of belonging in their community.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Parents value the warm and welcoming staff team and appreciate the strong relationships staff develop with their children. They speak positively about the effective communication and the time staff invest in getting to know each child. As a result, parents feel well informed, involved and confident that their child's needs, interests and personalities are understood and supported.

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

Children are valued as unique individuals from their very first interactions with the setting. They are supported to settle into nursery life at a pace that reflects their individual needs, ensuring that they feel safe, secure and emotionally supported from the outset.

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

Children thrive in this loving and nurturing setting. They benefit from highly adaptive teaching and meaningful learning experiences that are tailored to their individual needs, helping them to make very good progress and develop confidence in their own abilities. All children create deep, meaningful bonds with familiar adults in the setting. Babies smile and look around for their key person as they successfully navigate space or stack blocks. Toddlers enjoy working one to one with adults, eagerly involving them in their play and learning. As a result, children develop a greater sense of belonging and have a positive start to their education.

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

Children behave well and confidently follow familiar routines and expectations. They benefit from calm, organised transitions that allow children to understand what is happening next and feel secure throughout the day. Every interaction between staff and children is used as a learning opportunity, and, as a result, children deepen their understanding, develop new skills and build on what they already know. For example, when outside, children notice leaves that have fallen to the ground. Staff then use this as an opportunity to talk about seasonal changes, ensuring that this naturally occurring learning opportunity is explored.

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

Children are inquisitive and highly motivated to learn. Children laugh and show excitement when presented with new learning opportunities. For example, when children are given the

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Address:

St Margarets Church Rooms 59 Fore Street Topsham, Exeter Devon EX3 0HL

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Little Ducklings Nursery Devon Ltd

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Address:

Register(s): EYR, CCR option to count and colour animals with staff, they do so eagerly and enthusiastically, demonstrating a positive attitude towards learning and a willingness to explore new ideas.

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Next steps

Leaders should continue to build on the strong practice already in place to further enhance children's learning experiences and have a transformational impact on children's learning and development.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, special educational needs coordinator and parents 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. Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday,Saturday,Sunday : 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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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 .

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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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