Cre8tive Play @ Sharen Jane's ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy attending this welcoming setting. Staff greet children with wide smiles and children respond by sharing stories of their latest interest or outings shared with family. Toddlers and -re-school aged children confidently explore a wide range of activities that support their age and stage of development. For example, babies enjoy a range of sensory resources and investigate with the support of knowledgeable staff. Toddler and pre-school aged children enter a large room filled with a wide range of activities to support each age and stage of development. All children enjoy developing various skills within the spacious garden.

Children seek support from adults and are praised for their achievements. They build strong relationships with their key person, which helps them to feel safe and secure. Children respond well to instruction and guidance from staff. This contributes to children's positive behaviour as they play with, and alongside, their peers. Staff find out about the differing needs and routines of the youngest children, to ensure consistency of care. Staff find out about children's interests, likes and dislikes when they join the nursery. This helps children to enjoy carefully planned activities that capture their interest and curiosity from the beginning.

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

• Leaders and staff are extremely reflective of their practice and have worked hard to build a curriculum that suits all children. Staff ensure that they take children's needs and next steps into consideration, to enable consistent progress. For example, a large group of children are beginning to develop skills in walking. Therefore, staff adapt the room to allow children to cruise, balance and improve their awareness of wider spaces. Children gain confidence in their abilities, as staff plan an effective and carefully considered learning environment.
• Children enjoy the freedom to explore the environment and choose where and what they would like to play with. However, the organisation of some aspects of the daily routine are not organised as well as possible. For example, the transitions between activities, such as moving from independent play to a group circle time, is not always made clear. Some children do not know the expectations of them and become unsettled.
• Staff provide opportunities for children to develop good communication and language skills. For example, they ask children questions about their play and add key vocabulary, such as asking about the 'texture' during a 'feely box' activity. Children respond appropriately. They enjoy joining in with favourite songs and stories. Staff repeat words and listen attentively to children as they contribute ideas to play. For instance, older children pretend to call staff on their imitation mobile phones.
• Managers and room leads have developed a curriculum which is varied and ambitious for every child. Staff plan a range of purposeful activities, which all children thoroughly enjoy. For example, children spot different snails within the large garden. Staff encourage children to find out more and to practise drawing their varied patterns and sizes of the creatures. However, at times, staff do not always fully support children to extend their learning experiences, to capture their attention for longer periods of time.
• The support for families is good. Parents state that their children have made good progress since attending. Staff ensure that they are inclusive by offering support and guidance, for example to new mothers who may need a quiet space to feed their babies. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Staff gain professional advice about children, to ensure any identified gaps in learning are swiftly closed.
• Staff find out about the individual backgrounds of families and used this information to help children learn about diversity. Funding has been effectively allocated, for example to introduce a professional musician to group times. Children successfully learn about others in the community and develop an understanding and appreciation of diversity.
• Leaders are committed to the well-being of their staff, fostering a sense of value and enthusiasm within their roles. Consequently, children benefit from care and support provided by staff who are dedicated to positively impacting their educational journey.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the organisation of transition times, to ensure all children know the routines and expectations
• strengthen staff understanding of how to use key opportunities in activities, to support all children to become fully immersed in the learning experiences on offer.