Fairfield Play Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily and settle quickly at this setting. This shows they feel safe and secure. Children eagerly participate in the morning circle time routine. Staff provide a well-structured day for children. The curriculum is broad, and staff plan activities that closely align with children's interests. Children follow the routines well. They know when it is time to play, eat and gather together for story times. The adults have a good rapport with children. They sit with children to model play, encourage and acknowledge their good behaviour.

Children are happy to explore and try different activities. They concentrate well and finish their self-selected tasks. For example, children immerse themselves in hand painting activities. They spend significant time mixing various raw ingredients together to make scented play dough.

Staff have high expectations for children's language. They prioritise building children's vocabulary. Staff give ongoing and descriptive commentaries about objects and actions as they engage with children. Children learn to confidently name a range of different fruits and vegetables. They learn to describe them by their scent and colour. Staff use keywords and sing songs in Portuguese, for example. Therefore, children who speak English as an additional language have good opportunities to hear and use their home language in their play.

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

• Leaders have successfully addressed the actions set at the previous inspection. They are committed to securing continuous improvement. Despite facing challenges with recruitment, they have prioritised upskilling the existing staff and building a cohesive team. They feel this has boosted staff's confidence.
• Children have plenty of opportunities to develop their early mathematics skills. Staff encourage them to count objects and items during their interactions. They describe items as 'heavy', 'light' or 'halves' during role play in the 'shop'.
• Children build good physical skills. They enjoy travelling across wooden blocks. Children confidently rock on the see-saw together. They develop strong hand muscles as they take turns squirting paint from spray bottles.
• Children acquire several skills for school readiness. For example, they serve their own portions and scrape their plates at mealtimes. They enjoy having some responsibilities by helping staff prepare the tables at lunchtime. Older children have good opportunities to develop early writing skills as they sit and copy messages onto cards they create. However, leaders do not consistently consider all the areas of learning to prepare children for school. This is because children have too few opportunities to engage and learn with technology.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported very well. The setting's special educational needs coordinator ensures staff are well trained in effective interventions. Children receive structured individual support that helps them reach their targets. Therefore, all children make the best progress possible.
• Staff consistently model positive interactions and behaviour for children. They have clear boundaries for what is acceptable behaviour. Children listen to the adults. They are well mannered and treat the toys and resources respectfully. Staff offer age-appropriate explanations as to why some behaviour is undesirable. Therefore, children build a good understanding of the difference between right and wrong.
• Parents speak well of staff and the quality of care their children receive. They feel their children develop independence and progress in their learning at the setting.
• Staff effectively promote children's conversation skills. They encourage them to recall familiar events and experiences. Children enjoy sharing their news from home with staff. They retell small parts of events in books and stories at different times. Children confidently use supportive visuals to express how they feel at the start of their day. Staff acknowledge their different emotions and show they care about them and understand them.
• Leaders ensure staff benefit from tailored supervision in addition to ongoing coaching and training. This has led to noticeable improvements in the quality of their teaching practice. Staff feel the leadership team value them as practitioners and welcome their ideas.
• Leaders understand the needs of local families. They have thoughtful initiatives in place to assist families with essential items. This includes a food bank and firm plans to run a toy library service.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• increase opportunities for children to engage and learn with technology.