Abc at Ince Community Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy to come to this calm and welcoming setting. Children adapt well to changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, they settle quickly on arrival waving parents goodbye at the entrance. Staff build strong attachments with children, which helps them to feel safe and secure.

Children confidently explore the indoor and outdoor environments with curiosity and make independent choices as they play. For example, children use their balance skills and develop their large-muscle movements as they roll tyres in different directions and build brick bridges to walk across. Other children listen attentively to staff as they share with them their favourite stories in a warmly lit and tranquil cosy corner. In addition, the peaceful atmosphere allows staff opportunities to take part in meaningful conversations with children.

Staff are kind and caring role models, who have ambitious expectations for children's behaviour. Older children show high levels of self-esteem. For example, they excitedly share with their friends how to use the spray cans as they make dough ice-cream cones. Staff praise children and celebrate their achievements. For example, children show persistence as they pour water and sand through funnels and from tea pots into cups. Children show excellent awareness of number. They confidently count beyond 10 and are beginning to understand more complex concepts, such as addition and subtraction.

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

• Parents praise staff as being very supportive. They say they are kept 'well informed' about their children's learning and care. Effective systems are in place to encourage parents to continue children's learning at home. As a result, children make good progress.
• The manager has a clear intent for the curriculum. This is shared with the staff team. Staff place a focus on the promotion of children's personal, social and emotional development. For example, staff build strong attachments with families in this home-from-home setting. As a result, children feel safe, secure and are ready to learn.
• Staff use a consistent approach to manage children's behaviour. Staff apply strategies from a recent training course well. For example, they create calming enclosures and use these to talk to children about how they feel. As a result, children learn to understand their own and others' feelings and behave well.
• Children with special educational needs/and or disabilities (SEND) receive good care and support. Staff work intently with external professionals to ensure children with SEND make the progress they are capable of.
• Staff have good knowledge of what children can do and what they need to learn next. For example, they watch, listen, and respond as children play. As children play with rice, water and drain pipes, staff talk to children and ask them to observe how the flowing water affects the movement of the rice. As a result, children develop their critical thinking skills, as they predict what might happen next.
• Staff listen attentively and value what children say. For example, staff and children talk about their home life experiences, likes and dislikes. However, at times, staff do not always model the correct words back to children to help them to develop the correct pronunciation and to extend their vocabulary. For example, when comparing objects of different size, staff use words, such as 'even little' instead of smaller.
• Staff weave mathematical concepts throughout children's play and at routine times of the day. Children are encouraged to count out farm animals and place a value on the total number they select. In addition, they count how many items of food are on their plate at mealtimes.
• Children master a wide range of physical skills. Younger children develop their hand to eye coordination as they scoop sand and water and empty and fill containers. Older children confidently use pens to make meaningful marks. For example, as they attempt to write the letters of their name.
• The manager supports staff and provides opportunities for them to strengthen their professional practice. Staff are regularly involved in supervisions and have access to a wide range of training. However, further targeted support for staff is required to raise education practice to the highest levels across the team.
• Children are encouraged to lead a healthy lifestyle and gain a positive attitude to the care of their own oral health. For example, staff encourage children to brush their own teeth while at the setting and provide support for parents to access dental provision. In addition, staff also provide information and guidance for parents about how to implement and maintain good dental routines at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure staff use the correct pronunciation of words to better support children's speaking skills and develop their vocabulary
• strengthen current provision for supervision and coaching of staff to increase the quality of education to a consistently high level.