Carleton Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children develop secure bonds with staff. They demonstrate that they feel safe through spontaneous cuddles with staff throughout the day. There is a strong focus on children's emotional well-being. Staff promote children's understanding of their feelings and those of others. For example, they use stories and pictures to help children recognise a range of emotions. Children learn a range of language when talking about emotions. For example, they learn that 'scared' and 'afraid' mean the same thing. Parents notice their children behave well and are kind to each other. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and conduct. There are clear routines in place, and staff are positive role models. As a result, children follow instructions and boundaries well.

Children have a positive attitude to learning. They enthusiastically explore the inviting learning environment that is made available to them. Staff provide a broad range of fun activities that is devised to match children's current interests and experiences from home. Children are physically active in their play, both indoors and outdoors. This helps children to make healthy lifestyle choices. During the forest school sessions, children learn to become confident problem-solvers. For instance, when children pretend to be stuck in the mud, their friends help them by holding a stick to pull them back out. During group activities, children are encouraged to talk to their friends about their home experiences. This supports children's developing language and recall of past events.

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

• Children's speaking and listening skills are supported well. Staff repeat back to children what they say, emphasising key words and adding new ones to broaden their vocabulary. This encourages children to use descriptive words such as 'squelchy' and 'sticky' as they explore the mud during outdoor play. As a result, children become confident to express their needs and opinions.
• Overall, children's health and personal care skills are supported well. For example, staff encourage children to eat independently and hang up their own bags and coats. However, at times, staff do things for children that they could learn to do by themselves, such as blowing their noses and taking their coats off. Therefore, children are not always fully encouraged to master independent skills for their future.
• Leaders carefully consider how to spend any additional funding, ensuring that it meets the needs of the children. For example, they purchase storybooks about families made up of two mummies or two daddies. This supports children to learn about the differences between families.
• Parents speak highly of the care their children receive in this nursery. Staff regularly share developmental information and ideas for parents to support their children's learning at home. They also gather information from parents about children's experiences from home and plan activities that are based on children's current interests. However, some staff are not always confident in how they can put the curriculum intent into action through their teaching. As a result, the aims for some activities are very broad. This means that teaching is not always sharply focused on what children most need to learn next.
• Children enjoy nutritious meals and are encouraged to keep hydrated. During mealtimes, staff follow procedures to prevent choking, such as cutting up sausages according to children's abilities. This ensures children's safety and supports their development.
• Assessment strategies are used well to track the progress of all children. Staff identify gaps in children's learning and link with outside agencies to ensure that children receive additional help and support if they need it. As a result, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive the personalised support they need to make good progress alongside their friends.
• Leaders are responsive to the needs of their staff, and they recognise the demands of their workload. Furthermore, they use supervision meetings to offer coaching and identify training opportunities. This helps to keep staff's knowledge and skills current. Recently staff attended trauma awareness training. This helps them to understand children's emotional well-being.
• Links with the local primary school are strong. Leaders implement a programme of events and visits to help children with transitions so that they are already familiar with the teachers and environment before they begin. This helps children to feel prepared and ready when they move on to the next stage in their learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend opportunities that enhance children's independence skills and complete tasks for themselves
• support staff to have a clear understanding of the curriculum intent so that their teaching is consistently focused on what they want children to learn.