Butterflies Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff nurture children in this warm and caring environment. They place a strong emphasis on fostering children's independence, confidence and resilience. Staff build strong connections with their key children. This ensures that children feel safe and secure. Children seek out reassurance from familiar adults and cuddle up to their key person. Staff are knowledgeable and give children the practical and emotional support that they need. Staff gather detailed information about each child and invite parents and carers into the setting. This helps families to form secure attachments with their children's key persons.

Staff consider children's interests and preferences. They plan engaging experiences that build on what they know and can do. For example, staff encourage children to make marks with the paint, which nurtures their creativity and self-expression. Staff follow children's interests and encourage them to explore different animals and the sounds that they make. Children enjoy participating in circle time, as they sing songs and find out what is in a box. Staff plan these activities to build children's social and language skills. Staff understand children's needs. They plan appropriate activities to support their development and act on any concerns swiftly.

Staff support children to build positive attitudes to their learning. They guide children to 'have another go' and persevere if they do not get things right the first time. Children are keen to keep trying. Staff use regular positive praise to celebrate children's achievements, which boosts their self-esteem and confidence. Staff support children to understand rules and boundaries. For example, staff sensitively remind children to use their 'gentle hands'.

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

• Children have plenty of opportunities to develop their physical skills in this spacious and well-resourced environment. For example, staff encourage children to climb steps and explore age-appropriate apparatus. Children engage in well-planned activities that develop their small and large muscles in fun and engaging ways.
• Staff are warm and engaging when conversing with children, particularly during group activities. Staff get down to children's level and take a genuine interest in what they are doing. This helps to build children's self-awareness and confidence.
• Staff encourage children to tidy up in preparation for snack times and mealtimes. Staff use these routines to encourage children's independence. For example, they encourage children to feed themselves using cutlery. This helps to extend children's independence in preparation for their next steps in their learning.
• Staff provide children with interesting adult-led and child-initiated activities throughout the setting. For example, children explore sensory mark-marking activities with staff. Staff readily play alongside children and engage them in meaningful interactions. However, on occasions, staff do not consistently enhance their interactions to extend children's vocabulary and communication.
• Children understand how to behave well and are keen to follow adult instructions. For example, children thoroughly enjoy putting their toys away during tidy-up time. This supports children's independence and sense of achievement.
• Children gain a sense of community, such as by joining in with songs, rhymes and actions during group circle times. They practise taking turns and listening to others. However, staff sometimes do not encourage children to play with one another and to develop their social skills further.
• Leaders have a clear and ambitious vision for the care and education at the setting. There are systems in place to support the staff team, in terms of their workload and well-being. As a result, there is a strong focus on meeting children's needs and a happy working environment for staff.
• Staff receive regular supervision sessions and leaders closely monitor their practice. Leaders identify any areas for improvement and support staff with appropriate professional development opportunities. This helps staff to enhance their practice.
• Partnership with parents is strong. Staff provide holistic care and support to families. Parents comment that they can see the progress their children have made. They know how to support their children's learning and development at home, as they receive regular communication and information from the setting.
• Staff value routines, such as snack time. They encourage children to wash their hands before they select which fruits they would like to eat. Children learn to say please and thank you. Staff encourage children to feel, smell and taste the fruit. This helps children to be exposed to a wide range of healthy and nutritious foods that support their development and well-being.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to engage children more effectively in conversations and extend their communication and language skills further
• develop the curriculum for personal, social and emotional development to provide more opportunities for children to learn to interact with peers.