Cascades Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff create a nurturing and stimulating environment at this warm and well-organised setting. Children are happy, confident and eager to learn. From the start, staff take the time to understand each child's interests, home life and stage of development. This helps to ensure a smooth and comfortable settling-in process. An effective key-person system provides children with a sense of security and belonging.

Staff actively encourage exploration and learning through engaging activities. For example, they introduce babies to sensory experiences such as feeling wobbly jelly. Staff describe its texture and smell with words such as 'sticky' to support early language development. They serve as positive role models, demonstrating how to scoop with spoons, helping children develop essential cutlery skills. By incorporating children's interests into activities, staff encourage children's engagement and cultivate their love of learning.

The staff place a strong emphasis on outdoor learning as well as creating a home-from-home atmosphere. Managers are deeply committed to delivering the highest-quality care and education. They support staff in planning a curriculum that helps each child to make good progress. Through their dedication and commitment, staff foster children's independence and develop the foundations for their future learning.

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

• There is a strong focus on supporting children to become confident communicators. For example, staff sit with children at lunchtime and join in with their conversations. They ask questions and ensure that less-confident children are encouraged to contribute. As a result, children develop good language skills and build self-assurance in expressing their thoughts.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive quality support. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to ensure that every child receives the right level of support. Staff create an inclusive environment. They implement strategies that meet children's individual learning needs. For example, staff wear visual cues to support language development.
• On the whole, children behave well. However, on occasion, staff do not fully support children to understand the impact their behaviour may have on others. This means that some children do not fully develop their understanding of good behaviour.
• Relationships with parents are good. Parents say that staff know their children well and are extremely attentive to their children's needs. Staff use an online communication system to keep parents updated about their children's learning and provide ideas on how parents can best support their children's learning at home. This helps to provide continuity in children's learning and care routines.
• The curriculum is designed effectively to support children to develop in all areas of their learning. That said, staff do not always use the knowledge they gain from their observations of children's play to enhance the implementation of the curriculum. On occasion, children are not supported to build precisely on what they already know and can do.
• There is a smooth transition procedure in place for children moving between the two rooms at the setting. Staff arrange visits to the next room, where children meet their key person and explore their new environment. Staff always ensure that information about children's learning and progress is shared appropriately before children move. As a result, children settle into their new room quickly.
• Outdoors, children learn specific physical skills, such as balance. Babies' early physical skills are supported well as they climb and slide on the low play equipment. Children access the outdoor area regularly. Staff promote children's physical development and overall well-being effectively.
• The management team has implemented a robust supervision process for staff at the setting. It uses observations and formal discussions to monitor staff progress and identify any areas for further development across the provision. The management team provides support and guidance to help staff provide a good standard of education and care for all children across the setting.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to help children to develop their understanding of positive behaviour further
• help staff to use their observations of children's play and learning to adapt and refine their implementation of the curriculum.