Broadway Children's Centre Daycare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide children with a very safe and caring learning environment. There is an effective key-person system in place. Children have positive relationships with all staff. They settle immediately. Staff provide support to children that are quiet. They offer them reassurance and encouragement to engage in activities. Staff provide safe spaces where children spend time with staff expressing their feelings. Children are extremely happy and content. Staff role model good behaviour. They listen to children and respect their views, and children copy this behaviour. From a young age, children share resources. They go and fetch resources so their friends can join in activities with them. Children tidy up before moving on to another activity. Their behaviour is good.

Staff implement a balanced curriculum. Their interactions with children are of a high quality. Staff are skilled in engaging in children's play and further developing their communication and language. For example, when children play in water with dinosaurs, staff teach children about what dinosaurs eat and the noises they make. They talk about the different sizes. Staff use large expressive body movements and signs, modelling how dinosaurs move. Children copy and stomp. This enhances children's early language skills. Children learn rich new language, such as 'T-rex', 'barosaurus' and 'raptor'.

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

• Overall, staff sequence children's learning. For example, they encourage babies to move from bottles to beakers. Older children hang up their coats and take their shoes off. However, staff do not support older children to independently access drinks. At mealtimes, they support children to pour a drink but the water jugs are too large and heavy for children to independently use. Staff do not always the mirror skills which children need for school, such as how to use cutlery. This limits children's independence and opportunities to develop the skills they need to learn for their move on to school.
• Staff provide children with exciting opportunities to develop their large and small muscles. They use scoops to transfer foam into containers. Babies learn to balance on ride ons. Older children develop skills to use pedals on bicycles. Children play with balls and bean bags. Staff challenge children by placing a bucket for them to aim and thrown the bean bags in. Children climb a wooden structure and learn about risk. They help their friends to get to the top by creating steps using large tyres. Children are deeply engaged.
• Staff support children to gain an understanding of mathematics. Staff encourage babies to explore shape sorters. They learn about shape, colours and develop problem-solving skills. Children thread cubes onto pipe cleaners, counting as they do so. They excitedly sing songs to embed early numbers. Older children learn about height when they measure themselves. Children are appropriately challenged.
• Staff encourage children to use their imaginations. Children turn pots and pans into musical instruments. Staff ask thoughtful questions about the noise they make and encourage children to be creative.
• Staff are skilled in the early identification of children's needs. They complete timely assessment and individual weekly targets. Staff complete targeted interventions to develop children's attention and concentration. They use sign language and props to communicate with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Managers uses additional funding well. For instance, they purchase items so all children can enjoy all areas of the curriculum.
• Partnership working is good. Staff have links with parents, schools and professionals to support children's continuity of care. They share information with parents at drop-off and collection times, and through an online app and newsletter. They share with parents about what their children are learning and how their day has been. Staff support on how they can extend their child's learning at home. Parents report information sharing is good.
• Managers ensure that staff receive focused and effective professional development. Staff have regular supervision sessions. They feel valued and appreciated. This impacts positively on the care and education which they provide for all children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to maximise opportunities for older children to develop the skills they need for their move on to school.