Barlow Moor Community Association Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The setting is an integral part of the local community centre and somewhere children know well. Parents are not able to come into the nursery to stay and play because of COVID-19 (coronavirus) restrictions and need to leave children with a member of staff at the garden gate. Most children arrive happily and receive a warm, friendly greeting from the caring staff. All quickly become engaged in their play and learning and move round the safe and interesting indoor and outdoor areas confidently. Staff know their children and families really well. They recognise that some children will have had limited opportunities to be physically active, to play cooperatively with other children and to develop their communication skills over the past year. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who speak English as an additional language, are gently introduced to the idea of playing with, and talking to, others. Staff help them to develop the social skills they need to play together. Children move on to learn how to cooperate as part of group, in readiness for the move on to school. They behave very well, concentrate on what is being taught and confidently take part in activities.

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

• Parents praise the staff and the nursery provision. They feel supported and welcomed, despite the restrictions that COVID-19 has imposed. Parents feel that they have been given detailed information on their child's progress and regular information and resources to help them to extend their child's learning at home. Their child's attendance has sometimes opened up new opportunities for parents to access the other services the community centre offers. This has helped to improve the whole family's health and well-being and provided adult learning opportunities.
• Staff have a really clear plan for how they will prepare children for the move on to school. These children enjoy story times, where there is an expectation that they will spend a short time concentrating and learning as part of a group. Staff use repetition of stories and songs to build children's vocabulary, memory and ability to recall facts. Children demonstrate good abilities in sitting with focused attention. They remember elements of the story and the road safety theme. Staff's use of props keeps children engaged and draws in those who are more reluctant. Staff plan to develop children's physical ability and independence. Soon children will take off and put on their shoes at the beginning and end of these sessions.
• Staff know what their key children need to learn next and help children build on what they know and can do. They focus on developing these young children's social skills and vocabulary so they are able to have meaningful conversations. Some staff are less sure of the overarching curriculum intent for the whole provision and how their teaching will contribute to this. They are also less confident in their planning and delivery of the curriculum for mathematics, which reduces opportunities for children in this area of the curriculum.
• Children with SEND have tailored support to help them to make progress. Staff are on hand to work with parents who are making choices about the next stage in children's education. Children who speak English as an additional language are helped to build on their vocabulary while still respecting the vital role of their home language.
• The manager has effective recruitment and supervision processes. Staff are enthusiastic and committed to their work and feel well supported. Training for formal qualifications, short courses and in-house training deepens staff's understanding and builds their confidence.
• Members of the management team have been innovative in the way they have kept in touch with families during the nursery's COVID-19 closure. They have made regular telephone and video calls and distributed learning packs to make learning fun and encourage physical play. Staff have recorded themselves reading stories and shared these with parents. They thoughtfully adapted the Christmas tradition of meeting Santa and arranged for him to visit the children in a socially distanced way, travelling around the estate on a flatbed truck.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• clarify the curriculum for mathematics and share this more clearly with all staff, so they are confident to implement it consistently
• develop staff's understanding of the overarching curriculum intent for the provision, so they are more secure in their planning for individual children's learning.