Chy Lowen Early Years and Pre-school

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet children warmly and help them to settle quickly. Children, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress in their learning and development. Managers ensure that staff implement their ambitious curriculum. Staff help children learn by building on what they already know and can do. They carefully observe and assess children. They use their knowledge and experience to carefully plan each child's next steps. For example, babies are learning new words. Staff show them a ball, sign the word, and repeat the word 'ball'. Babies chuckle when they pick up a ball and attempt to say 'ball'. Older children are learning to make meaningful marks. They practise drawing shapes with their fingers in trays of sand. Staff remind them how many sides each shape has.

Children are confident and follow the routine calmly. For example, older children gather on the carpet at the start of the day to sing a 'hello' song. They happily sit and take turns to sing their name. Babies sit on staff's laps to join in with rhymes. Staff are consistent with expectations and encourage children to be independent. Older children serve themselves their lunch. Staff are close by to offer reassurance and support when needed.

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

• Children learn new words rapidly. Staff use a mixture of sign language and modelling and repeating words to support this. The pre-school room is very loud and noisy, and staff raise their voices to be heard. This sometimes makes it difficult to hear others speak. Although children with language delay are making progress, their development in communication is not as effective as it could be.
• Staff skilfully encourage children to understand mathematics as they play with different activities. For example, pre-school children play animal bingo. Staff help them to count out the counters they need. Babies begin to count when they sing number rhymes.
• Staff help children to develop an understanding of other communities and cultures. For example, they introduce items relating to Chinese New Year in the pre-school room. Children explore a pretend 'Chinese restaurant' staff have created in the home corner. They concentrate as they work out how to fit money into the till. They recall what they already know and write down orders on a note pad.
• Children have a can-do attitude when they play. They explore an 'animal race' that staff have set up. Staff support children by modelling the game and explaining the rules. However, when the children are playing, staff do not encourage them to share their ideas or thinking. Staff ask lots of closed questions. This means that, sometimes, staff do not challenge the most able children to think of new ideas and ways of doing things.
• Babies and toddlers have excellent care routines. Staff sensitively look after them. They follow the babies' routines from home, so they feel secure. Older children are happy, and staff support them sensitively. They learn to be independent, as staff encourage them to do things for themselves, such as pouring their own drinks and chopping up fruit for their snack.
• Children develop a good understanding of how to be healthy. Staff use innovative activities to engage children in movement. For example, when outside, the children follow actions with scarves. They stretch and bend as they move around. Staff highlight how their heart rate has increased.
• Staff have developed strong partnerships with parents. They share children's learning through a variety of ways. This helps parents to understand how and what their children have learned. Staff share the next steps for each child. Parents trust the staff and feel their children are very happy and safe.
• The managers are very reflective. They assess and evaluate the setting, curriculum and staff practice. They are ambitious for children to have the best experiences to help them prepare for later life. The managers use staff appraisals well to target areas for training. The managers have professional and effective partnerships with other agencies, such as the local authority and local schools. They seek advice for improvement.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• further develop staff interactions with the older, most able children to encourage them to share their thinking and to speculate what might happen if they try something new
• consider ways to reduce the noise levels in the pre-school room so children with speech and language delay can hear clearly when spoken to and further develop their communication skills.