Farlea Childcare (Bridgtown)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff know the children well and they develop strong bonds with the children in their care. Children are happy and settled at the setting due to the relationships that staff build with them. Staff prioritise developing children's personal, social and emotional development. They want all children to be confident and social when they leave the setting. For example, each morning children sing a good morning song to one another, and they share experiences from home after taking home the class bear. As a result, children develop close friendships, and they were confident to approach and speak with the inspector. Children behave well in the setting and follow the rules and boundaries. They are polite as staff model and encourage good manners.

Children benefit from daily use of the outdoor area and occasional use of the school grounds. Outside, children skilfully throw balls into a basketball hoop and ride bikes along the path. This supports children's physical development. Staff also take children on trips around the local area, including to the local library, park, church, tea shop and post box. This supports children's knowledge and understanding of their local community. Staff create strong relationships with the on-site primary school. They share information about the children, and staff attend settling-in visits at transition times. This supports children to feel secure and confident when moving to their next stage in learning.

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

• Staff prioritise children's language and communication development. They sing songs together, narrate play experiences, repeat and extend language and explain new words. This supports children to become effective communicators.
• Children develop a love for reading by being read high-quality books. For example, children select soft animal teddies from a box of props while being read 'Dear Zoo'.
• Staff advance children's mathematical skills through interactions, daily routines and story times. For example, children join in with story language when reading the book, 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'. This helps to support children to understand concepts such as under and over, or what happens now and what is happening next.
• Staff focus on supporting children's physical development. Children paint with corks and mix ingredients to make their own play dough. This strengthens the small muscles in their hands that are later needed for writing.
• There are well-established routines in the setting, which the children follow. However, some routines mean that children sit for extended periods on the carpet or are taught in large groups. This prevents the children from fully accessing the curriculum on offer.
• Staff encourage and support children's independence skills. Children pour their own drinks at snack time, use knives and forks at lunchtime, and locate and use tissues to blow their own noses. This supports children to become increasingly independent in taking care of their own needs.
• Staff promote healthy living through teaching activities and routines. They serve healthy food and drinks during snack times and lunchtimes, and children have access to fresh air daily during outdoor play. Children are taught how to brush their teeth effectively using real toothpaste and toothbrushes. This supports children's long-term health.
• Staff observe children closely and plan activities that appeal to children's individual interests. However, activities are not always focused precisely on children's individual next steps in learning. This can have an impact on children's progress in learning.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified swiftly. Staff create individual plans with specific targets for each child. They deploy a range of strategies to support children's different needs. For example, visual prompts are used to support the understanding of key words. Staff work effectively with parents and external agencies to ensure children receive the support they need.
• The setting is led and managed well. Leaders and managers are passionate about working with children and providing them with a good foundation for their future learning. They have an accurate understanding of what quality teaching and learning look like. Leaders and managers assess the setting's strengths and areas for development.
• Parents speak highly of the staff and the service they provide. They feel that their children are happy and safe at the setting. Parents say that they are kept well informed about what their children are doing at the setting. They receive reports and attend meetings to discuss their children's progress in their learning and development. Parents would recommend the setting to others.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the organisation of routines so that children are continually engaged in the curriculum on offer
• enhance the planning of activities further to focus more precisely on children's individual next steps in learning.