Fennies Langley Park

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a safe and welcoming space for children. There is an effective key-person system, which fosters strong attachments between children and staff. Staff know children well and ensure that activities and routines reflect their experiences at home. This helps children to settle quickly and become emotionally secure. They show that they feel happy and enjoy their time at the setting. Staff have high expectations for all children. They model kind and respectful attitudes and provide consistent reminders about rules and boundaries. This helps children to understand what they should and should not do, follow the daily routines and behave well.

The curriculum is ambitious and helps to prepare children for their next stages in learning. For instance, staff encourage children to manage their own personal care right from the start. Babies and toddlers learn to feed themselves and to wipe their hands and faces. Pre-school age children become confident to use the toilet and eat with a knife and fork. This sets them up for starting school. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged children are well supported. Leaders and staff work with parents and carers and other professionals, to create and implement effective learning plans. They use additional funding thoughtfully, to provide extra support and resources. This helps all children to make good progress from their starting points in development.

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

• Leaders are passionate about giving every child the best start to their education. They understand that a happy and highly skilled staff team are key to this. Therefore, leaders ensure that staff feel valued and receive regular coaching and training to enhance their professional skills. Staff describe how this helps them to meet their key children's needs and to reach professional goals, such as gaining a childcare qualification or achieving a promotion.
• The curriculum has a strong focus on promoting children's communication and language. Staff introduce children to a broad range of words, such as by singing with them and commentating on their play. They ask relevant questions, which encourage children to think and comment. This helps children to develop good speaking and listening skills and to be confident communicators.
• Overall, staff promote children's early literacy well. Books are readily available, and staff read to children individually and in groups. However, they do not consider how to engage children who are not so interested in books and stories. Therefore, some children miss out on the rich language and learning opportunities that reading books can provide.
• Children enjoy interesting and meaningful opportunities to develop their mathematical knowledge. For example, they explore shapes and sizes as they construct 'bug houses' using wooden blocks. Staff use questioning effectively to further extend children's thinking, such as asking which shapes would be best for the roof, door or window.
• Staff foster children's individual interests and use these as opportunities to extend their learning. For instance, staff quickly respond to children's fascination with tree houses. They provide resources and ask thought-provoking questions, to help sustain children's interest and support their thinking skills. This helps to ignite children's positive attitudes to learning. Children concentrate for prolonged periods as they decorate their tree house and explore how they can make it windproof.
• Children benefit from nutritious meals and enjoy plenty of exercise, moving their bodies in a variety of ways to enhance their fitness. Staff explain the importance of self-care routines, such as washing their hands before eating and wearing sun hats in hot weather. Children show a developing awareness of their personal needs, such as getting a drink of water independently when they feel thirsty.
• Staff value children's uniqueness and provide some meaningful opportunities for them to share this with their peers. For example, children bring in family photos for a display or wear their traditional costumes on special occasions. However, staff do not always consider how to promote children's interests and appreciation of diversity more consistently throughout the curriculum and activities.
• Leaders and staff build strong partnerships with parents. They ensure a constant exchange of information to support children's care and learning. Staff encourage parents to be involved in their children's early education, such as by providing books and learning packs to enjoy with children at home. Parents are very complimentary about the provision and staff.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• promote children's interest in reading further, such as by helping staff to further enhance the use of stories and books in the setting
• implement a more consistent approach to supporting children's understanding and appreciation of diversity.