Dingley's Promise

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are welcomed into the safe and supportive environment by a warm and familiar staff team. Staff build strong relationships with children and their families during their comprehensive induction process, which includes staff visiting them in their own home. This approach helps children feel secure from the moment they begin attending. Leaders and staff work together to plan an ambitious curriculum, enriched with sensory experiences, to meet children's developmental needs. The curriculum helps children grow into strong, capable and resilient individuals, equipping them with skills they will need for future learning and life.

Children make significant progress from their starting points. They explore dry ingredients, such as flour, with their hands and fingers. Children investigate the different ways marks can be made, pushing wheeled toys through the flour. Staff successfully prepare children for what comes next throughout the day. This helps to support children's emotional well-being and self-regulation skills. Children make connections between objects of reference, such as plates, and understand that it is time for snack when they sit at the table. Staff use sign language and simple words to enhance children's communication skills, introducing words such as 'sitting' and 'eating' to remind children of expectations. They gently reassure with them with touch to reinforce positive behaviour. Children form secure relationships with staff and seek support when needed. Staff are in tune with children's needs and swiftly respond, offering more snack and role-modelling good eating habits.

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

• Overall, the quality of teaching and learning children receive at the setting is good. Staff are attentive to children's communication styles, repeating sounds children make to support language development. They implement strategies, such as visual aids, to help children express their wants and needs.
• Staff meet each morning to discuss children's needs and plan for the day. They are reflective and committed to providing high quality care and education. Leaders regularly conduct staff supervisions, offering strong support for staff's well-being. This contributes to high levels of staff morale and a positive staff team. Leaders have a good overview of the setting's performance and are aware of some minor inconsistencies in the quality of teaching. Although they have introduced additional training and support for staff, their newly acquired knowledge and skills are not yet fully embedded to raise the quality of their teaching to an even higher level.
• Each child has a support and achievement play plan, which helps staff recognise successful strategies and guide future learning. Staff make effective use of assessments and monitor even the smallest progress children make. They identify needs and set achievable and specific targets for each child.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents feel thoroughly supported by the staff team, who demonstrate a deep understanding of each child's individual needs. Staff actively encourage parents to engage in various training opportunities and information sessions to enhance their knowledge and further support their child's development. These include first aid, managing transitions and sensory processing. Staff also share ideas and resources with parents to promote consistency in children's learning at home.
• Staff work with external professionals effectively, including speech and language therapists and occupational therapists, to ensure children's needs are consistently met. They collaborate with other settings children attend and offer their expertise to help other professionals support children's move to the next stage of their learning when the time comes. Staff support parents to make choices about schools that best match their child's needs.
• Staff provide each child with an individual resource box tailored to their interests and learning needs. The boxes are labelled with children's photos, allowing children to independently access them throughout the day to help regain focus and regulate their behaviour. These boxes also support the needs of children who are learning English as an additional language. They include picture cards with words in their home language. Staff learn the pronunciation of these words, ensuring children hear their home language throughout the day.
• Care practices are good. Staff use timers and visual prompts to help prepare children for everyday routines, such as nappy changes. They encourage children to develop independence. Children hold their own nappies and wipes. Staff support children's understanding of healthy practices after nappy changing. Children use soap, rinse their hands and dispose of their paper towels in the bin.
• Leaders make effective use of any additional funding they receive to enhance the experiences children receive at the setting. Professionals are invited to conduct musical therapy sessions, allowing children to explore instruments and build relationships with new people. Staff inform parents about community sessions they can attend with their children to build on children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to monitor and support the development of staff's knowledge and skills to raise the quality of teaching across the setting to an outstanding level.