Easton Community Children's Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are greeted warmly by staff and respond positively to their nurturing attention. Some children who have been absent for periods are upset when they arrive, they happily go for cuddles with staff, who are very attentive to them and they quickly settle. Children are eager to join in and quickly choose what they want to play with from the wide variety of activities available to them. Staff know children well and consider children's backgrounds and experiences when planning the curriculum. Children make good progress from their starting points and have a positive attitude towards learning.

Children move around the well-organised outside areas and rooms safely and with confidence. They understand the setting's rules. For example, when staff indicate it is time for breaks or lunch, children know to tidy up and wash their hands. Children concentrate well and persevere. With staff support they practise new skills, such as how to fly a paper airplane successfully. Children show deep engagement levels with their chosen activities. For example, young children use a magnifying glass to find bugs, talk to staff about what they have found and continue to observe them as they move around the garden area. Children have many opportunities for physical play. They enjoy playing with their friends as they run around, ride bikes, balance on obstacles and play chase games.

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

• The leaders have a strong commitment to ensuring children know they are valued. For example, they have recently researched and purchased a range of sunhats that can be worn by children with all types of hair styles.
• Children develop knowledge and understanding of the world around them and respect for each other. Each month, staff choose a global issue and/or cultural celebration and share this with all children. For example, they introduce babies to new food, young children hear stories and older children explore in deeper detail and display their art and craft creations around the local area.
• All children listen well. They show they are familiar with rhymes, songs, and stories, joining in with the words and actions enthusiastically.
• The staff help children to develop a strong sense of belonging. For example, babies excitedly point to images of children and their families as they recognise them in a book and older children share information about their families as they point to photos on display.
• Children learn about sharing and taking turns and show kindness towards others. For example, when one child is resting they move to make space for another child to join them.
• Staff promote children's language as they play. For example, they talk to the children constantly throughout the day and use repetition to support children to learn unfamiliar words. Occasionally, staff ask too many questions while children are playing and do not give them enough time to answer.
• Leaders have high expectations for every child, including those with additional funding and special educational needs and/or disabilities. They work well with parents and external agencies, using recommendations and strategies provided to support each child.
• Partnership with parents is strong. Parents speak highly of the centre and the information they receive about their children daily, including the ideas for things they can do at home to support their children.
• Staff use observations and assessment of children and provide a wide variety of experiences to help children progress in their learning. However, at times, some older children are not engaged, and their learning is not supported effectively.
• Leaders value all staff and think carefully about how to support them. For example, they include bank staff in training opportunities. They plan social events to help staff get to know each other. Staff morale is high. They work well as a team and speak respectfully to each other. Children learn from these positive interactions how to interact with their peers.
• Arrangements for children to move from room to room, as they get older, are very successful and children settle quickly. For example, staff will accompany children to the new room on a few visits prior to the move and also after the move.
• Staff support children to develop deep engagement in their chosen play. For example, when children indicate they want to build a waterfall they use challenging questions that encourage children to explore how this can be created.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide older children with the time to process their thoughts and respond to questions
• help staff to review the effectiveness of activities and resources to ensure they meet the learning needs of all children.