Berrygrove Early Years Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive ready to play. Most join their friends and are eager to get started on their day at this very inclusive setting. Any children who need support to say goodbye to their parents have kind and caring staff ready to help them. Staff provide children with plenty of worthwhile play experiences indoors and outside. Children are eager to challenge themselves as they climb over the tyres and balance on the wooden stepping logs. Staff provide very good two-part instructions, testing out children's ability to follow them. Older children need no more support and get started right away. Younger children reach out for a hand to steady them as they balance. Staff are on hand to help each child and there is plenty of celebration as they reach the end.

Children behave well. Staff model polite and respectful behaviour and this helps children to learn how to speak and behave towards others. Children sit well for circle time. They join in, saying 'hello' to each person as part of their welcome. Children are enthralled as they look at the caterpillars that they are caring for. They speculate when they will make their cocoons and become butterflies. Children participate well in the story that follows. They show that they are familiar with what happens and this enables them to join in with repeated phrases.

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

• Children benefit from the frequent interactions with the attentive staff and the many opportunities to explore the wide range of resources. Staff know which experiences interest children and how they can use these to teach children, building their skills and improving their understanding as they play.
• Leaders involve all staff in planning the curriculum. This helps them to make sure the specific learning needs of every child are considered and provided for. This also contributes to creating a broad curriculum.
• Staff describe what they want children to know and be able to do by the time they leave to attend nursery or school. Staff focus on encouraging children to have strong personal, social and emotional skills, so that they feel confident in a variety of situations. They promote independence, helping children to learn good habits that will help them to live a healthy life. For example, children learn when to wash their hands and how to put on their coats before playing outside in cold or wet weather.
• Staff provide children with experiences that immediately grab their attention. They are thoroughly delighted with the water trays placed on the ground. Children paddle, splash and jump, enjoying the feel of the cool water on their feet on the very warm day. Staff have positioned upturned crates around the edge to create additional opportunities for children to test their physical skills.
• Children make progress over time. They show that they are learning how to do things as they challenge themselves. Children learn how to jump down from the crates, progressing from stepping with caution to jumping with both feet as they become confident in their assessment of the distance and their landing.
• Staff know their key children. They understand children's individual stage of development, what they are currently working on and what they plan to introduce next. Staff listen to children and encourage them to express their thoughts, ideas and feelings verbally and through their actions.
• Staff work very closely with other agencies who are involved with children and their families. This helps to provide consistency for children and helps to ensure that any specific programmes are included in children's individual learning plan. Staff accurately identify gaps in children's learning and work hard to help children to catch up. However, staff do not always make the most effective use of strategies to aid children's communication.
• Staff establish highly effective partnerships with parents. As a result, they work well together to meet children's needs. Parents appreciate the support that staff provide to the family. They know what their children are learning in the setting. Parents identify things that children learn during their time in the setting. They say that children sing the songs and rhymes that they have learned.
• Leaders and managers are organised and ensure that the setting is led well. Some staff have a high level of knowledge about special educational needs and how to support children to make the best possible progress. However, not all staff linked with these children have this high-level knowledge.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the use of alternative communication strategies to maximise their impact on fostering children's communication
• explore ways to enhance staff knowledge and confidence to an even higher level for working with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.