Faith Together in Leeds 11

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are safe and happy in this welcoming and inviting setting. They show high levels of engagement in the activities and experiences on offer. Children move around their environment and outdoor space freely, and choose what they would like to play with. Children have built secure attachments with staff, who are tuned into their individual needs. Staff play alongside children and engage with them in their play. Outside, children enjoy searching for insects with staff. They look in trees and under logs as they search for bugs. Children are engaged and show a desire to explore and learn, such as when they tick off the bugs they have found on a chart.

Staff have high expectations for all children's learning and development. They have clear aims for what they want children to achieve. Managers and staff have worked closely together to devise a curriculum that promotes children's confidence and independence, and sets them up for future learning. Children display good behaviour. They respond to staff positively, who teach them the importance of being kind to each other. Children play cooperatively together and share resources well. Staff place a focus on developing children's communication and language. They talk to children during their activities. Staff offer children plenty of praise and encouragement as they develop their knowledge and skills.

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

• The key-person system is effective. Staff know the children they care for very well. They confidently talk about what children enjoy. Staff know where children are in their development through their observations and spending time with children.
• Staff use what children are interested in to engage them in experiences that support their learning. They plan activities that are inviting and stimulating. Staff introduce new themes and topics to teach children about the wider world.
• Children become skilful communicators. They confidently chat to staff about what they are doing and their experiences. For example, as children paint rainbows, they express their own thoughts and ideas, and show pride in their achievements. Children delight in showing staff, visitors and peers that they have mixed 'brown'.
• Staff are not as skilful in supporting children to develop their thinking skills. For instance, when staff ask children questions, they do not always give children time to think and respond.
• Children who may have additional needs are identified quickly and staff put support in place to help them to achieve. Staff are experienced and work alongside a range of other professionals and parents to give children the help that they need. They use additional funding successfully to support children to make progress.
• Staff promote good health and hygiene practices throughout the setting. They teach children about oral hygiene in fun and practical ways. For example, older children learn how to clean their own teeth and practise brushing a pretend dinosaur's teeth. Younger children enjoy stories about brushing their teeth. Staff talk to children about why it is important to clean their teeth twice a day. They also send home toothbrushing kits to support good oral health at home.
• Partnerships with parents are good. When children first join the setting, staff arrange visits and get to know children and their families. This helps children to settle quickly and feel safe and secure in the environment.
• The manager has a system in place to monitor staff's practice and to discuss training that staff wish to attend. However, the manager's methods do not precisely focus on where staff need support, to raise the quality of practice to a consistently high level.
• The manager and staff work together to reflect on the service, which they provide for the children and families. They seek the views of parents to see what they can do to improve. For example, staff have plans to relocate the older children to a downstairs room and develop the garden, so that children have greater opportunities to learn outside.
• Staff speak to parents each day. They share information about what their children are doing and learning in the setting. Staff hold regular parents' evenings where they share children's progress and next stages in learning. Parents speak positively about the setting, and praise the kind and friendly staff. They say that their children are happy and have close bonds with staff.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on staff's questioning techniques to allow children time to think and respond, in order to support their thinking skills further
• strengthen the monitoring of staff's performance to focus professional development more precisely on raising the quality of practice.