Children's Respite Trust Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff create a very calm and settled environment for children. They greet every child individually and help them to separate from their parents. The setting provides respite care for families with children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Every child is valued and provided with continual support and guidance, including when they are not at the setting.

Skilled staff help children to understand boundaries in a way that is appropriate to their stage of development. For example, staff give clear, verbal instructions, such as 'waiting' and 'kind hands', so that children understand what is expected of them. Staff skilfully adapt how they communicate with children, such as using Makaton and visual aids, to support all children's understanding.

Children enjoy a range of activities to promote their physical development, attention and turn taking. For example, during outdoor play, staff support children to use a sand timer to take turns with resources. Children excitedly play running races, and staff promote children's attention and listening as they use 'stop' and 'go' signs. Staff comment on children's play as they pour water from one container to another. Children persevere as they stack large blocks and concentrate as they explore the lights in the sensory room.

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

• The leadership team is strong. It has clear values and principles that form the setting's ethos. Leaders are committed to providing children and their families with the support they need. They are reflective and open to suggestions about how they do things and if they can improve. Leaders have organised for some maintenance work to be carried out on the premises to ensure the environment remains suitable for children.
• Leaders place a high priority on the well-being of staff, children and families. They provide regular times for staff to discuss any concerns they may have and their training needs. Their aim is to create an environment where all setting users feel their well-being is cared for. Staff report they feel well supported in their roles.
• Staff know the children very well. Leaders conduct home visits before children start at the setting and take time to get to know them and their families. They contact other professionals that are involved in their care and liaise with other settings the children may attend. This helps children to feel at ease when they start.
• The curriculum intent is clear and, generally, staff implement this well. They adapt their practice depending on the individual needs of children. For example, staff encourage children to use their visual-aid boards to help them make choices and communicate their needs. However, at times, staff do not always know where the children's communication boards are located, and these are not always accessible to children. This means children have to wait momentarily to communicate their needs or to make their choices known.
• Staff promote children's mathematical development through their play. For example, they encourage children to count as they practise walking on low-level stilts. Children concentrate and count their steps while learning to balance. Staff comment on volume as children empty and fill jugs in the water tray, and they teach children that some items sink and some float.
• Staff promote children's independence. They encourage them to put on their own coat before going outside and to help lay the table at mealtimes. Children sit well together at lunchtime while staff read them a story. After lunch, some children are encouraged to have a rest. However, the arrangements for sleep time are not consistently organised well. For example, at times, staff get involved with other tasks and do not make sure children are comfortable or that they rest peacefully.
• Staff take children on outings into the local community. They recently visited the local garden centre to buy seeds to plant. The setting organises events during the year where children and their families can meet with other families and share experiences, such as meeting Santa Claus at Christmas.
• Partnerships with parents are excellent. Leaders and staff provide parents with an abundance of support and guidance. For example, they help parents access a range of funding they are entitled to, and they refer them to other services and professionals where needed. They allow parents to borrow home-learning packs so that children's progress can be celebrated at home. Parents talk incredibly highly of the progress their children make and how they feel part of a family at the setting.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review and improve the organisation of the environment so that it fully supports the implementation of the curriculum, particularly when supporting children's communication
• strengthen the arrangements for when children sleep so that they benefit fully from peaceful rest times.