Little Treasures Day Nursery

Storytelling, signing and growing independence stood out at Little Treasures Day Nursery in Skegness in February 2023. At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged its safeguarding effective. The strongest practical examples were small: children organising their belongings, choosing their lunch utensils and learning words through conversation.

The nursery has 49 places in total and accepts children aged 2 to 60 months. Its address is 18 Algitha Road, Skegness, PE25 2AG.

In February 2023, learning followed the early years foundation stage, the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, stories, puzzles and conversation translated that framework into everyday experiences.

The baby room emphasised language through simple words and longer sentences modelled by adults. In the toddler room, familiar stories encouraged children to join in with remembered phrases; the pre-school room used storytelling to introduce vocabulary. Puzzles gave children opportunities to work through problems and recognise shapes.

Outdoors, a mud kitchen supported pretend play in February 2023. Children's interests also shaped activities: a conversation about an aeroplane became an imaginary journey, with children pretending to prepare their luggage. These examples show how an ordinary observation could become something children developed through play.

At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that additional funding enabled individual staff support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Signing also helped children connect spoken words with meaning, including those learning English as an additional language.

Predictable signals helped organise the day in February 2023. Adults used a tambourine to announce changes in the baby and toddler rooms, while preschool children took responsibility for giving their friends the signal. Lunch offered another opportunity to practise independence, with older children choosing utensils and helping themselves to food.

Communication with parents needed attention that February. Staff did not consistently explain children's next learning steps or give families ideas for continuing learning at home. That matters because parents need more than an account of activities to understand their child's development.

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm, throughout the year, closing on bank holidays. That opening window gives families a clear starting point for planning care around work.

In February 2023, funded early education was offered for children aged two, three and four. This is a dated participation statement rather than a current entitlement promise.

• Development updates. In February 2023, communication about progress and learning at home was inconsistent. Ask to see how the nursery now explains an individual child's next steps.
• Teaching through mistakes. That February, toddler activities sometimes continued without staff correcting misunderstandings, including incorrect colour matching. Ask how practitioners respond when a child needs a different explanation.
• Starting in the baby room. Babies were supported with language and familiar routines in February 2023. How would settling be organised around your baby's individual needs?

Little Treasures suits families seeking care across the working week who value language development and practical independence. Its February 2023 examples make those priorities tangible, from joining familiar stories to serving lunch. The two improvement priorities deserve equal weight: clear communication with parents and teaching that responds when children misunderstand.