Children 1st @ Syston

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children develop close friendships and arrive happy to see each other. They show their caring nature, consider each other's feelings and willingly share resources throughout the day. Children enjoy using their imagination. They pretend it is time for a nap and tell their friends to lay down, placing a blanket over them and gently rubbing their back. They giggle as they say, 'Time to wake up!'.

Children know the boundaries and expectations staff have for behaviour. They follow staff instructions and remind others what they should, and should not, be doing. For example, children tell their friends 'hands up, time to tidy up' and check the outdoor environment to make sure they have put things back where they belong. Children are keen to try things for themselves and enjoy age-appropriate responsibility. They proudly explain that they are wearing a lanyard because they are the lunch monitor and are in charge of setting the table ready for lunchtime. Children independently wash their hands and hand out cutlery and plates, carefully making sure to give them out to all of their friends.

Children listen closely to staff from a young age and develop their attention skills. Very young children concentrate for long periods of time as they play with toy cars in a tray of water. They copy staff as they splash and repeat words, such as 'beep'. Children's secure relationships with staff mean they feel safe and are happy to explore the environment, seeking a reassuring cuddle when needed.

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

• Leaders, managers and staff are clear on what they want children to learn in each age group. They focus on preparing children for the next stages of learning as they help prepare them for transitions into different rooms and eventually on to school. For example, staff teach the youngest children to feed themselves. They show children how to use cutlery to pick food items up. This helps prepare children for eating and using cutlery without support.
• Staff support children to build relationships and respect one another. Older children remind their friends to 'wait, not yet' as they listen to staff and wait, ready to explore items set up in a tray. Children wait patiently for their turn to use small tools as they dig and plant wheat in the garden.
• All children develop their independence. Staff encourage older children to take themselves to the toilet and wash their hands ready for mealtimes. Children find their own belongings to get ready to go outside. Younger children are shown by staff how to plate up their meals, and older children serve themselves at lunchtime. At snack times, older children pour their own drinks and select their snack. They place their used cups in the 'used' basket before they go off to play.
• Parents are happy and feel well supported. They are kept up to date with information through an online system. This includes what learning experiences children enjoy each day. Staff support parents to know how to help children make progress at home. Parents comment on the caring and warm nature of staff and that they are always approachable.
• Staff form strong relationships with children and families. This helps them identify children's interests. They use these interests to plan activities and experiences to support individual children's development. For example, staff place younger children's favourite puppets in a basket for them to explore and use these to sing with the children.
• Staff support children's communication and language. They model and use single words to prompt younger children's understanding of self-care routines. Staff repeat what older children have said. This helps children to embed the words they know. However, staff do not always extend children's thinking and vocabulary beyond what they already know.
• Staff generally support children to understand what is expected of them. Throughout the day, older children move between areas inside and outdoors. They are encouraged to line up and wait for staff instructions as they move between other children's spaces. During these times, staff generally encourage children to 'tip toe' and use 'quiet voices'. However, this is not always consistently implemented by staff. On occasions, these changes interrupt what other children are doing and can leave children waiting around unnecessarily.
• Overall, leaders and managers support staff to improve their professional practice. They help them to develop, as they offer ongoing feedback during regular meetings. Leaders and managers provide staff with access to a range of training opportunities, which has a positive impact on children's learning. For example, after attending training, staff state they felt more confident to better support children's behaviour. However, leaders do not identify that, on occasions, some staff do not deploy themselves well enough to enable them to offer children support.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to extend children's thinking and vocabulary, to build on what they already know
• improve the use of daily routines to lessen disturbances to learning and reduce the amount of time children spend unoccupied
• improve how staff are deployed to enable them to further support the children who need it.