Bristol Childrens Playhouse

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are greeted by a staff who offer a positive, warm welcome when they arrive. They become engrossed in activities that staff have specifically chosen to follow their interests and spark curiosity. This means children settle quickly, feel secure and are happy when entering the nursery.

Staff concentrate on developing positive, secure relationships with children and supporting their well-being. Parents have time to share important information with staff at the start and end of the day. This means staff are able to provide accurate levels of care and attention to children and provide a nurturing environment for each child. Children form strong relationships with staff and are comfortable approaching them. They show high levels of confidence.

Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. They support children of all ages to take turns and share with their friends. For example, they offer children sand timers to take turns when more than one child wants to play with a toy. Older children do this independently and sit and wait patiently for their turn to play. They happily pass the toys to their friends when their time is up. Children's behaviour is consistently good.

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

• The management team and staff implement an ambitious curriculum with a clear and consistent approach. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive strong support. Staff gather information about children before they start and work closely with parents. This helps them to make precise assessments of children, to identify any gaps in their learning and development, and to provide well-planned interventions immediately.
• Parents speak highly of the manager and staff and feel well informed about their child's progress. Children benefit from this two-way communication, and parents comment that their children are 'thriving'. Children make good progress in all areas of the early years foundation stage, and any gaps in children's learning and development close quickly.
• The manager strives for the best possible outcomes for children. She spends funding for children from disadvantaged backgrounds on introducing new opportunities and widening their knowledge of the world around them. For example, children experience theatre productions and musical performances. All children learn about key festivals of the various cultures of the staff and children who attend the nursery. They benefit from this rich and varied environment, which promotes diversity and provides them with new encounters.
• Staff support the development of children's communication and language skills well. For example, they use Makaton signing and visual cards with young children and those with speech and language delay to develop their understanding of new words and to inform them of what is happening next. Staff speak key words in both English and children's home language, which benefits children who speak English as an additional language. Children show good levels of communication and language skills.
• The manager has a continual drive for improvement and strives for all children to develop a love of learning, both indoors and outdoors. Children show high levels of independence and curiosity in their play. They spend considerable amounts of time engaged in activities. For example, younger children enjoy playing doctors and 'treating' the staff who they ask to be their patient. However, on occasion, staff do not organise larger group song times to follow the interests of younger children. As a result, some children lose their normally high levels of focus and do not fully benefit from the learning experience provided.
• The manager supports staff well. She holds regular meetings with the team so they can share updates on children's progress. She uses these to offer advice and training for staff so that they continually develop and improve their knowledge. The standard of teaching is continually improving and consistently good across the nursery.
• The manager and staff support children and families to develop healthy lifestyles. For example, they offer cooking classes for children and parents where they learn about making healthy meals that are cost effective and receive healthy lunch box lists. Children enjoy the healthy snacks offered and bring well-balanced lunch boxes.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the organisation of song times for younger children to ensure they remain interested and focused during the activity.