Explorers Lydiate

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children quickly settle into the setting with support from friendly, caring staff. The setting offers a homely feel, helping children to feel safe and secure. Babies enjoy singing songs, and joining in with actions as they babble along. Staff model shaking their musical instruments to the music, which the babies excitedly imitate. The staff build on toddlers curiosity in the icy weather, by encouraging them to explore the ice that has frozen on the tuff tray outside. In preschool, children make marks in sand and on paper, practising their fine motor skills in preparation for writing. They learn to manipulate chopsticks to eat their noodles at snack, further developing these skills.

The provider has high expectations for children's behaviour, and instils routines and boundaries to support this. Children learn about the golden rules such as good sitting, good listening, kind hands and friendly feet. Children make a 'promise' to focus on one of these things for the day to help support positive behaviour. Healthy eating is promoted through the healthy snacks and meals children have. Staff promote good oral health, with children taking part in daily supervised tooth brushing.

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

• Leaders have identified areas for improvement with relation to the implementation of the Safeguarding Policies and Procedures, and have acted upon these. They have carried out additional staff meetings to address the issues raised, and put action plans in place alongside continual monitoring of the situation. Consequently, all staff have a renewed understanding of safeguarding procedures. As such, children are kept safe and protected from harm.
• Providers offer a curriculum which is sequenced to build on what children have learned previously. They plan learning experiences to provide children with opportunities to practice their skills. This helps children to develop their understanding and make secure links to what they already know.
• There is a focus on preparing children for school, by developing independence and encouraging them to take ownership of things. Staff have a "helper of the day" board, where children are chosen daily to help with setting the table, clearing up, and washing the dishes, to help promote this. This gives children a sense of achievement and develop confidence in their abilities.
• Communication and language is a focus throughout the setting, with daily circle times and story sessions in all rooms. However, during whole-group activities, younger children are easily distracted by other things happening in the room. Consequently, these children lose interest and become disengaged which impacts their learning and that of others.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have support plans in place. This enables staff to understand each child's unique needs and implement strategies to support their learning. However, on occasion, the children do not benefit from the intended interventions due to inconsistencies in staff practice, which in turn affects their ability to make progress.
• Providers have good procedures in place for observing and monitoring staff to support their practice. They have a good understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and celebrate staff achievements through their observation feedback, as well as being able to clearly highlight the areas for improvement. This provides staff with a constructive way of reflecting on their practice and making improvements. As such, providers identify and evaluate practice to continually strive for improvement.
• Partnership with parents and other agencies is a key strength for this setting. They take on board parents comments and suggestions and implement strategies and activities to help families in the area. Providers keep parents updated on their child's learning and development via the app, parents evenings, and termly reports. They celebrate children's achievements and identify any gaps in learning or potential concerns quickly and seek support from relevant agencies. This ensures a coordinated approach to fulfilling children's needs.
• Providers ensure plenty of opportunities for staff to attend training to improve their teaching. Staff implement what they have learned on training to support children, for example in recognising and dealing with their emotions. This helps to raise the quality of teaching and learning across the setting, therefore supporting children to reach their full potential.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider children's age, needs and abilities when planning whole-group activities, so that all children can participate and benefit from the learning provided
• provide support for staff to address the inconsistencies in the quality of the interventions for children, particularly those children with SEND.