Children's Learning Tree

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff build strong and trusting relationships with the children and their families. They gather information about children's behaviours and needs, as well as their current stage of development, when they start. This enables staff to identify areas of learning that need more support.

The friendly staff team creates an environment where all children are able to thrive. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive personalised support to help them make progress. Staff identify children who may have SEND and work closely with parents to ensure that they can access the right support. Children who speak English as an additional language receive strong support. Staff learn key words in children's first languages to help them to feel comfortable and develop their understanding of English. As a result, children make good progress in their understanding, listening and speaking. Through offering a wide range of experiences, staff help all children to make good progress in their learning and development.

Staff use effective behaviour management strategies. They encourage children to reflect on their behaviour and they give clear guidance on their expectations. Staff offer children plenty of praise. Children respond very well to instructions and show that they understand the expectations. For example, they tidy away, line up and put on their coats when asked to do so. Consequently, children behave very well and display positive attitudes to learning.

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

• Leaders develop a clear and ambitious curriculum to build on what the children already know. Staff regularly assess the progress that children make. They work together to plan activities to address children's individual gaps in learning. Leaders track the needs of the children well and ensure that staff receive the training that they require. The curriculum is developed further by providing opportunities for children to explore the local community. For example, they go on trips to the farm to experience outings and learn more about animals.
• Staff build strong relationships with parents. Parents report on the consistent and effective communication they receive from staff, and that they know their children's next steps in learning. They comment on the progress that the children make, in particular in their confidence and language development. Parents value the staff's dedication and support for their children's learning and development.
• Leaders are committed to inclusion and diversity. They are keen to support the children to have confidence in their identity. Staff work closely with parents to ensure that every family's unique experiences are celebrated. For example, parents come to the nursery to share stories in their home language. Staff use resources that children are familiar with, such as chopsticks and food packaging, and encourage them to share these experiences with each other. This helps children to feel valued and included.
• Leaders make effective use of early years funding to meet the needs of eligible children. Staff identify specific learning needs, and the team works together to make decisions about how to address the needs. Leaders allocate funding to resources and training for staff to enable them to provide the best possible support for the children. They confidently measure the impact that funding has on children's outcomes.
• Staff support the children's early mathematical development well and incorporate mathematics into activities. For example, staff count as children jump on the hopscotch squares, when children line up and as children make 'teeth' with play dough to put in the 'mouth'. Staff also talk to the children about size as they compare the cars that they play with. This helps children to understand mathematics in a fun and natural way.
• Children independently move around the nursery, indoors and outdoors, selecting the experiences they would like to engage in. This allows children to remain motivated and engaged. Children show sustained concentration and focus on activities, for example as they intently observe caterpillars in a jar.
• Staff know the children well and enjoy talking to them to encourage them to think. Although staff use some well-considered questions to encourage children to respond, they do not always fully support children to build on their spontaneous play and learning to extend their development fully.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to recognise how to provide more opportunities for children to build on their own play and learning to enhance their development even further.