Abc at Ince Children's Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide children with a home-from-home environment where they feel safe. They use their knowledge of child development to carefully plan an ambitious curriculum which captures children's interests and motivates them to learn. Children show high levels of engagement in their play. They enjoy blowing bubbles outdoors and become fascinated while enacting roles of superheroes. Staff promote children's large-muscle skills incredibly well. They demonstrate for children how to run up hills and how to kick balls. Children relish these experiences and are keen to learn new skills, such as how to ride a scooter.

Staff have redeveloped the outdoor area into an oasis of fun and adventure. Children enjoy being outdoors and staff support children's natural curiosity. For example, children become enthralled while searching for bugs and talk about the importance of caring for wildlife. They discuss the process of beekeeping and the benefits of eating honey. Staff play ring games with children and teach them the rules to follow. In the main, children behave well and show positive attitudes towards their learning. Staff support children to become independent. They encourage them to take care of their belongings and to help tidy toys away. Children develop the necessary skills in readiness for their next steps in learning, including their eventual move on to school.

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

• The highly experienced and dedicated manager leads the setting with an absolute conviction that all children will succeed. Her passion for providing a first-rate service for children and their families is truly palpable. Self-evaluation is accurate and improvement plans are monitored with rigour. The manager's capacity to drive forward change and bring about improvement is good.
• Staff provide children with a curriculum that builds on what children already know and can do. Children relish their time at this vibrant setting and everywhere you look they are immersed in deep play. They enjoy being active and become excited while learning how things float and sink. Children display the characteristics of effective learning. They are keen to have a go at new skills that staff teach them. For example, they learn how to use knives safely while chopping fruit. They show good levels of perseverance and have a can-do attitude with any task that is presented to them.
• Overall, children are kind and considerate towards others. However, staff are not always clear about expectations of behaviour and do not support children in managing their feelings in the best way. This means that, on occasion, some children do not know what is expected of them and they become frustrated.
• Children like nothing more than communicating with others. Staff support this well and ask children questions during their play. They listen to children with interest and introduce new words. Children are confident communicators who use a wide range of vocabulary.
• Staff have regular supervision sessions and appraisal meetings. Leaders support staff in accessing training that will have the best outcomes on their professional practice. For example, staff have attended training of how to support children's physical development indoors. Leaders give staff well-being high priority. Staff report that they enjoy working at the setting and said it is 'like one big family'.
• The support in place for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is excellent. Leaders ensure that children with SEND get the support that they need early on. They work closely with external professionals and parents to ensure that intervention plans are working for each child. Gaps in learning quickly narrow and children with SEND make good progress.
• In the main, staff provide broad experiences to teach children about the world that they live in. For example, children learn about growth and decay. However, leaders have not considered other ways to teach children about people and communities beyond their own experiences. This means that some children do not learn that some people and communities are different to their own.
• Partnership working is a strength. Parents speak highly of the setting and commend staff for going above and beyond. Staff keep parents informed of their children's time at the setting and encourage them to share children's achievements from home. Links with the local authority and other childcare professionals are robust.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• better support children in managing their own feelings and behaviour
• develop children's awareness of differences and similarities between themselves and others.