Cottam Before and After School Club

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The motto of 'enjoyment, achievement and fun' is what makes this setting so special. Staff give high priority to the settling-in process. This helps children to feel happy and safe. Staff provide children with an ambitious curriculum. They use information from parents to find out what children's interests are. Staff support children's mathematical skills incredibly well. They introduce numbers, weight and size while looking at pumpkins. Children enjoy counting and singing number rhymes.

The caring and dedicated staff team goes above and beyond for children and their families. Staff have created a home-from-home environment, where children settle and flourish through high-quality learning experiences. Staff are excellent role models and support children to be independent and self-assured. Children know what staff expect of them and behave well. Staff encourage children to develop a can-do attitude. This helps children to gain positive attitudes towards their learning. For example, staff help children to think about the different ways a train track can be built. Staff encourage children to take on new challenges, such as learning how to use play apparatus outdoors. Children take pride in their achievements. They showcase their balancing skills and cheer each other on while playing football. Children develop the necessary skills in readiness for school.

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

• The manager exhibits exceptional leadership skills. She leads the setting with an absolute conviction that children and families get the best service. She aspires for the setting to be a beacon of exceptional practice. Improvement plans are accurate and are monitored with rigour. Her capacity to continually improve and bring about change is good.
• Leaders have developed a curriculum that is built on what they know about child development. They are passionate about ensuring that children get off to a good start to their early education. Leaders provide children with broad learning experiences. This means that children are engaged and enthused to learn for most of the time. However, some staff do not make best use of information from assessments to help children make even better progress.
• Staff support children's communication and language skills incredibly well. They introduce new words to children and teach them how to blend letter sounds together. Children use this knowledge to decode words while looking at books. They are skilful communicators, who use a wide range of vocabulary.
• Staff teach children well about the world that they live in. Children relish learning about festivals and celebrations from around the world. They learn about cultural music, food and dance. However, leaders have not thought of other ways to broaden children's understanding of people and communities beyond their own experiences.
• Partnership working is a strength. Staff ensure that parents are included in their children's learning. Parents commend staff for their loving and caring nature. They receive information about their children's time at the setting and attend parents' evenings. Links with external professionals and the host primary school are excellent.
• The support in place for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is exemplary. Leaders excel at ensuring that children who need additional help get it early on. Gaps in learning are targeted with precision. This means that children with SEND make good progress.
• Staff foster children's love of reading very well. They sit with children and read stories to them. Children cannot contain their excitement and help to turn the pages of the books. They anticipate what might happen next and discuss their favourite characters. Children enjoy taking books home to share with their families.
• Leaders have created the outdoor area into an oasis of physical adventure. Children show excellent physical dexterity as they climb and jump outdoors. They enact roles of builders while playing with wheelbarrows. They complete an assault course and become enthralled while playing ring games with staff.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• refine assessment strategies to help children to make even better progress across all areas of learning
• strengthen children's understanding of people and communities beyond their own experiences.