A1 Fun Club

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff work with parents to provide children with supportive, personalised transitions into the setting. This helps children to settle quickly when they first start. Children form close trusting relationships with their key person. Staff provide opportunities across the day for all children to play together. This encourages older children to nurture and care for the younger ones. It helps the younger children to build their confidence and develop their social skills. Staff offer a flexible routine which helps the children understand what is next. Children are happy and have fun. Staff interact positively with children. They join in children's games enthusiastically.

Staff keep children safe and secure in the setting. They carry out ongoing risk assessments and continually supervise the children. Staff support all children to become independent with their self-care. They support babies to feed themselves and toddlers spread their own toast. Children develop confidence in their own abilities. Staff support children to behave positively. They encourage children to share with each other. Staff model positive attitudes to learning. They plan learning with children's interests in mind. This keeps children engaged in their learning. Children from a variety of backgrounds receive the support they need to make good progress with their learning and development.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Staff teach children how to brush their teeth. They share information with parents about the importance of oral health. Leaders have changed the foods that children eat at snack time to help care for children's teeth. Staff encourage children to wash their hands independently. They keep children safe when they are sleeping. Staff support children with transitions to school. They help them develop the skills they need to be independent at school. For example, they practise getting ready for physical education.
• Children make good progress with their physical skills. In the baby room children roll and squeeze play dough. Outside children enjoy using ride-on toys. They balance on beams and play hide and seek with staff. Staff help children to develop their manipulative skills by providing a range of creative activities such as collages and painting. Staff in the toddler room extend children's understanding of shape and colour as they play with construction toys.
• There is good support for children's communication and language. In the baby room, staff teach children new words and use signs to reinforce these. Children learn about what lives under the sea and enjoy learning to say 'turtle' and 'penguin'. At story time staff help children to identify how characters in a book are feeling. Children begin to share how they are feeling with each other using words such as 'frustrated'.
• Children enjoy learning about the world around them as they grow strawberries and look after them. They get thoroughly engaged in their learning and play. However, group times can be noisy, and staff do not always take opportunities to remind children of the rules and expectations for their behaviour. This means that quieter children do not always get the chance to have their voices heard.
• Staff carry out thorough assessments of children's learning and development. They quickly identify when children require further support. Staff work with other professionals to put individual plans in place to support children. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress with their development.
• Staff develop positive relationships with parents. Parents appreciate the thoughtful approach to settling children into the setting when they start. They comment on the support their children have received to make the transition to school. Parents also state that they are confident to approach staff for any other advice and help they may need.
• Leaders induct new staff into the setting thoroughly. They support staff to continually access training, which helps them to develop their knowledge and skills. Leaders have evaluated the effectiveness of their setting and developed a comprehensive action plan to further improve aspects of the provision. For example, they are working with staff to provide further support for their well-being.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to manage children's behaviour at group times effectively so that all children have the opportunity to participate.