Acton Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The extremely skilled staff are passionate about creating a nurturing, child-centred environment where all children are supported to flourish. Children are highly motivated and enthusiastic learners. They spend long periods engaged in activities, for example exploring shadows in the sun, planting tomatoes in the gardening area or writing their own stories.

Children demonstrate high levels of engagement in the activities that are provided for them and use resources and tools on offer to extend their own learning. The language-rich environment that is created by the staff supports all children to acquire and use language, and they are excellent communicators. Children are confident to express their own ideas, needs and interests, and these are listened to and responded to by the staff. Staff know exactly when it is not appropriate to interrupt children's flow of thoughts and ideas.

Children are expert problem solvers, develop excellent physical skills and learn to assess risks from an early age. They work out how to prop up the ladder so they can climb safely to the top and use wheelbarrows to manoeuvre items from one area of the garden to another.

Staff are highly experienced and exceptional role models, so children are extremely well behaved. Children know to share resources and use a sand timer independently to negotiate with their friends when it is time for someone else to have a turn. They help look after their environment and respond when they hear the tidy-up-time music, helping to put materials away where they belong.

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

• Leaders and managers are ambitious and passionate about the setting. They are highly reflective and insightful regarding their own, and staff's, practice. They have a really thorough oversight of planning, assessment, safeguarding and other aspects of the setting. Leaders and managers expect the best from staff and give them great support to reach their full potential. Clear recruitment, induction and training procedures ensure that staff are suitable, highly knowledgeable and skilled for their roles. Staff morale is extremely high, and as a result, the team are thoroughly committed to their pursuit for excellence in all areas of the setting.
• The key-person system is highly effective in practice. Staff know children extremely well, what children have already learned and what they need to know next. Staff use this to build on existing skills, and all children make very good progress from their starting points. Staff thoroughly understand each child's needs and ensure that all children's needs are met. Staff understand how to keep children safe, and they ensure that children are safely supervised and well supported at all times.
• Children enjoy an extensive range of experiences. For example, they take train trips to the local museum, go on buses to visit the elderly at the day centre and use the local shop to buy ingredients for their cooking activities. These experiences help to shape children's understanding of the community in which they live.
• Staff ensure that equality and inclusion are at the heart of everything they do with the children. They have a positive approach to diversity and support children to develop a positive sense of themselves. Children are highly valued as individuals. They are confident, resilient and independent.
• Children's communication and language skills are promoted exceptionally well. Staff implement highly effective strategies to support children's language development. Staff model vocabulary and comment on children's actions. Children quickly learn and repeat new vocabulary, such as 'twirling' and 'wriggling', as they explore materials and enthusiastically join staff for stories and songs.
• Partnerships with parents are exemplary. Parents speak very highly of the setting and staff. Parents describe how grateful they are for the dedicated staff who genuinely care about their whole family. They are delighted with how well their children settle and the amount of progress they make. They feel informed about their children's learning and development and know what they are working on and how they can support them at home.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive exceptional support. Staff work in close partnership with parents and external agencies to ensure a comprehensive package of support and interventions is highly effective. Children with SEND make truly inspiring progress over time.