Allsorts

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the pre-school and after-school club happy and settle quickly. They become securely attached to all staff, and relationships are positive. Children take great pride in their achievements. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. Children behave very well and promptly respond to staff instructions, for example when it is time to play with their friends or to tidy away the toys.

Staff provide children with enjoyable opportunities to make marks and develop the fine motor skills they need for early writing. For instance, pre-school children show great focus when creating shapes with dough and using small cutting and shaping tools. Children enjoy dressing up from a wide range of costumes. For example, children enjoy dressing up as superheroes. Staff show young children how to put on the dressing up outfits. This supports their developing self-care and independence skills. Children delight in looking at themselves in the mirror and attempt to draw what they see. Pre-school children have fun as they use pencils to draw their pictures, and proudly show them to their parents when they are collected.

Older children enjoy their time in the before-and after-school club and holiday club. They enjoy being with their friends and being able to choose what they would like to do. They share snacks with their friends and talk to each other about their day.

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

• The manager and staff provide a broad and challenging curriculum, helping children progress in their learning. However, occasionally, their intention of what they want children to learn is too wide. This means that sometimes staff do not focus activities sharply enough on specific knowledge that children need to learn.
• Staff create innovative small-world sensory activities and read stories, to give children new knowledge of different animals. Children work together and with staff to build enclosures for the zoo animals with wooden blocks. Staff encourage children to think what the animals sound like and use a range of descriptive words to explain what they look like.
• Children have opportunities to learn about the similarities and differences in people in our communities. They learn about what makes them unique. Children have fun, as they learn about different festivals and explore pictures and books to learn about others.
• Children have opportunities to explore a wide range of skills outside, and indoors in the school hall. They develop balance and spatial awareness through group games and exercises. For example, they delight in taking turns to be 'Mr wolf' as they excitedly play 'what's the time Mr wolf?'. Activities, such as games using a parachute, provide opportunities for all the children to work together. Children excitedly wriggle under the parachute with their friends, as staff flap it up and down.
• Children develop their knowledge of numbers and counting regularly. Staff encourage younger children to count and use numbers in their play. Children learn about shapes, colours and numbers during small-group activities. Every morning children sit with their friends and learn about the days of the week and the date.
• Children access a curriculum that ensures they embed skills across all areas of learning. Staff are enthusiastic and encourage children to make choices and decisions about their play. However, occasionally during group activities, staff do not always ensure that they are suitably engaging and challenging for the individual children.
• Staff establish effective partnerships with other settings that children attend. They share precise information with school staff to fully support children's transition, if they attend the out-of-school club.
• Leaders and managers have a vision to improve outcomes for every child in breakfast club, after-school club and pre-school. They are skilled in adapting provision for the varied age groups. All children are motivated to learn and make good progress.
• Parents are very positive about the care and education that their children receive. They speak highly of the management and staff. Parents comment on the good progress their children made since attending the setting.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to focus more precisely on clearer learning intentions for activities, to support what children need to learn next
• consider ways to better organise and enhance group activities so that all children can take an active part and are suitably engaged and challenged.