Blooming Wild ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive ready to play or have their breakfast. The very warm welcome from staff helps children and parents to feel confident, settled and secure. Staff enquire about everyone's well-being. They take note of any issues that might affect the child during the day. For instance, some children require medication due to illness and others may be tired after a night of poor sleep. Staff make sure that parents are heard and know they have been listened to. These important messages are passed on to the children's key person to ensure that they have the necessary information to meet children's care needs.

Children show that they are excited by the experiences available to them. There is lots of conversation between children and staff throughout the setting. This helps to promote children's speaking and listening skills. The older children delight in making Easter biscuits. They weigh and mix ingredients to form egg shapes and bunny heads with ears. Children persevere with shaping the bunny ears and try hard to follow the instructions from staff. Younger children thoroughly enjoy joining in with active singing time. They sing familiar songs and act out the sequence of movements as they sing. Children show their eager anticipation for the next action as they lay still and wait for the moment to jump and hop. The very youngest children have great fun with paint. They explore the feel of the paint and make marks with their fingers. Children behave well and enjoy the recognition and appreciation for their good behaviour. For example, older children helpfully, and without prompting, hold the door open for others.

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

• The provider, who manages the setting, has an excellent understanding of the early years curriculum. She knows what children need to know and do by the time they leave her setting to attend school. She supports staff to build their knowledge of how children learn and to use a variety of teaching methods. This is having a positive impact on the provision for all children. The provider evaluates the quality of staff teaching well. She recognises where staff practice is effective and where there are aspects that can be improved. Staff do not clearly explain some activities to children at the start. This makes it more challenging for some children to engage.
• The provider maintains an excellent engagement with the community and other agencies. She supports the staff team to ensure that every child develops a strong sense of themselves as a unique individual. Through the many extremely positive interactions with staff, children learn that others highly value them. The staff team helps everyone to celebrate events that are important to individuals and the wider community. They make a tremendous effort to include everyone. Children talk about their family experience of Ramadan and the upcoming Eid celebrations. Alongside this, they develop their knowledge of spring and Easter.
• Staff know their key children well. They explain how they decide what children need to know and do next. Staff base their planning on information from parents, staff observations, and other professionals involved in the child's life. Staff ensure that children have the opportunity to practise skills and recall what they know and have learned before. However, staff do not consistently offer support to all children during free play. This means that staff do not extend some children's learning as much as possible.
• Staff provide children with lots of opportunities to develop their physical skills. They make good use of the outdoor space, where children explore, look for hidden eggs, balance on beams, and dig in the earth. The vibrant mural on the wall outdoors reflects the artwork that the children produce, which helped the artist with the design. This ensures that children know that what they do has meaning and is important to others.
• Parents say that they appreciate and value the care that the staff team provides for their children. They are particularly complimentary about the provider. Parents talk about the high level of trust they have in the staff. They speak about what their children learn and how well pre-school children are prepared for school.
• The provider leads the setting well. She successfully communicates to the staff team that children's well-being is central to all that they do. The team ensures that additional funding is used to benefit children, ensuring they have access to suitable early learning experiences. The provider ensures that staff have opportunities to discuss their work and decide on appropriate training that can help them to enhance their knowledge and skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• identify and implement ways to consistently support children during free play to make the most of opportunities to extend children's learning
• support staff to adapt to changes in routines so that they provide children with clear guidance that helps them to engage from the start of an activity.