Bishopston Beanstalks

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children have warm and trusting relationships with staff, who are kind and caring. They smile with delight as staff greet them when they arrive and separate from their parents happily. Staff create a tranquil atmosphere and genuinely listen to the children. Children are calm and behave well. They understand the clear boundaries set. All children are valued. Staff put children's images on maps, placed at children's eye level, to show their birth and heritage. Family members visit the pre-school to share their celebrations and cultures. For example, parents and children enjoy sharing traditional dishes eaten during Eid-al-Fitr.

All staff know the children well and help those children who require extra support to settle in a sensitive manner. They speak softly and reassure these children, who quickly engage in their chosen play. Children enjoy accessing the inviting environment and are keen to explore resources and activities. Children are encouraged to become independent. For example, they hang up their coats, choose their image on a disc and use this to self-register. Children develop secure attachments to their key person. They enjoy curling up with them as they share a book.

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

• Support for children's emotional development is strong. Children have a variety of ways to identify, share and manage their emotions. For example, children use a disc with their face on and place it against an image of an emotion. This helps children with limited speech to make staff aware of how they are feeling. Staff regularly check the board and engage with children who have shared their emotions.
• Staff use innovative ways to encourage children to become familiar with routines and expectations. For example, children select their own image and place it next to a tidying up task they choose to complete.
• Staff talk to the children throughout the day. They use repetition to support children to learn unfamiliar words. For example, repeating 'stir' and 'mix' as children mix oat ingredients. However, sometimes the quality of interactions with older children are not fully effective to extend their communication skills further. For example, staff ask too many questions that do not give children time to think and respond.
• Mealtimes are sociable occasions. Staff use this opportunity to encourage children to talk to each other. Children cut up their food and pour their own drinks. Staff sit with children as they eat and help them learn about the importance of eating savoury food first before moving on to fruit and yogurt.
• Staff are quick to identify children who need early intervention and additional support. Funding is used effectively. For example, staff attend specific training courses and implement routines which ensure that children are fully included and involved in all learning opportunities. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress from their starting point.
• Children choose the fruit they would like to eat at snack. Staff explain that the one selected the most will be purchased. Staff skilfully extend this activity by taking children to local shop to buy the fruit. This supports children to learn about the wider community.
• Staff use their sharp knowledge of children's progress to support their planning. However, sometimes they do not consistently extend children's learning in a way that supports individual children, and the learning intent is lost. For example, staff sometimes miss opportunities to support and encourage children to interact with each other and form friendships.
• The management team monitor staff practice through various methods, including team meetings and regular supervisions. Staff are encouraged to take advantage of training opportunities to gain knowledge and be able to support all children. For example, staff complete 'autism champion' training.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents share their children are very happy. They receive regular updates on their child's progress and have ideas they can try at home.
• Staff identify that some children prefer to be away from the sometimes noisy and busy environment. They provide tented areas and dedicated quiet spaces with cushions and books which children access independently.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop how staff support older children's communication and language skills even further through consistently high-quality interactions alongside children's play
• support staff to ensure that the precise learning intention for children is consistently implemented, so that children learn as much as they can.