Ellistown Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The management and staff team have worked hard since the previous inspection to elevate the standards of care and education for the children who attend. Children are warmly welcomed and excitedly enter the playgroup's safe and stimulating environment. They delve into a tray, with items frozen in ice. Staff help children to think about how to get the items out of the ice. Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. They give children instructions on how to use pipettes. Children listen to the instructions as they practise their small muscle skills, dipping pipettes into water and transferring the water into containers.

Children explore the exciting outdoor area. They construct structures with foam bricks, and are challenged to think about what they have made. Children use their imaginations as they create 'dinner' in the mud kitchen with play food, they exclaim, 'I'm making fruit, this pan is very heavy!' They sit together as they pretend to taste the food while staff talk to children about healthy foods as they enjoy their tea party.

Children are encouraged to gleefully sing songs into large tubes. They listen to how their voices change and use their imagination to make up their own songs, singing loudly and confidently. Children practise their large muscles and coordination as they skilfully 'whizz' up and down the playground on their balance bikes, expertly avoiding obstacles.

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

• The manager and her staff have worked successfully to address the previous weaknesses. They have worked together to create a program of learning that helps children prepare for the next stage in their education. Staff now benefit from regular supervisions to identify any weakness. They have accessed further targeted training to help them improve on their knowledge of child development and the curriculum. The manager ensures that she regularly monitors the quality of teaching. This has given the staff more confidence in their knowledge and interactions with children.
• Children are familiar with the routines of the day while they are at playgroup. This helps build a sense of belonging and security. However, at times, children's routine activities, such as story times are interrupted. For example, staff call children over to get stickers. As a result, children are not able to engage in their listening and concentration skills.
• Children's everyday language is developing well. They benefit from a wide range of stories and rhymes. Overall, staff communicate with children well. They ask questions to find out about each child's knowledge. However, staff do not always build on the children's language and introduce new words as they play.
• The manager and staff ensure that children learn about what makes them healthy. They talk to children about healthy foods as they eat. They provide children with healthy snacks and place an emphasis on the importance of oral health. For example, children are currently completing a toothbrushing challenge at home with their parents. Children engage in activities with toothbrushes, brushing out the 'germs' on a picture of teeth.
• Overall, children display positive behaviour at playgroup. They are polite and are gently reminded to use their manners. However, staff do not always support transitions from one activity to another. This sometimes results in disrupted behaviour.
• Parents speak highly of the 'supportive and friendly' playgroup. They receive regular updates on their children's development and are given activities to help children learn at home. Parents comment that the playgroup is 'welcoming' and provides lots of creative activities that their children enjoy.
• The manager and staff ensure that the children gain experiences both at playgroup and in the wider community. They benefit from visits to the local library van, where they can select books to enjoy at playgroup. Children welcome visitors to the setting that teach them about different cultures. This helps children's understanding about the world around them.
• Staff support children to understand early mathematical concepts. They achieve this by embedding maths into everyday play. For example, children dip paintbrushes into water and 'paint' on blackboards. Staff ask children to compare sizes and shapes of the flowers they have painted.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review routines of the day to allow children time to consolidate and deepen their knowledge through uninterrupted play
• support staff to build on children's language by introducing new vocabulary at a consistently high level
• support staff to plan more effectively for children's transitions from one activity to another, to enable children to remain focused and engaged.