FIG Playgroup And Playscheme

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff create a warm, welcoming environment that helps children feel safe and secure. Staff know their key children well and are tuned in to support their emotional needs. Staff are very caring and form strong bonds with children. They have high expectations for children's learning and behaviour.

Leaders have created a curriculum to stimulate all children in their learning. Staff support activities that are based on children's interests and that enhance school readiness. Children thoroughly enjoy their time in the setting. They explore their environments with confidence. They happily handle the minibeasts in the garden and talk about how the worms move around.

The nursery environment is spacious, bright and engaging. Staff develop areas to support children's learning and love of nature. For example, together with support from the local community and parents, the leaders have raised money to develop a forest area within the grounds of the nursery. Children enjoy spending time listening to stories, shovelling soil and leaves, feeding the wildlife and looking for fairies in the woodland.

Parents speak extremely positively about the setting. They praise the staff for the relationships they make with their children and the support they offer to their families.

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

• The management team is reflective and evaluates the ongoing performance of the nursery. Staff benefit from regular supervision discussions, staff meetings and training opportunities. There is a strong emphasis on promoting staff well-being, and staff say they feel very supported. Staff retention is good, which contributes to the positive relationships between staff and children.
• Supporting children's communication and language is a key feature of the nursery. Children have opportunities to hear clearly spoken, repeated language as staff narrate children's play. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. Staff with responsibility for supporting children with SEND are committed to collaborating with parents and other professionals to ensure that children receive targeted support.
• Children have many opportunities to develop their independence. For example, they learn to use the toilet, wash their hands and put on their coats and shoes. Staff encourage children to build these skills from an early age. Interactions between staff and children are strong. Staff demonstrate that they know the children and their families very well. Parents report that staff keep them well informed about what their children are doing at the setting and that their children make good progress in their learning and development.
• Children are supported to understand how to keep themselves healthy and safe. For instance, staff promote healthy eating at snack times and provide parents with information on providing healthy lunch boxes. Children have a wealth of opportunities to be physically active. The outdoor areas provide ample space and resources for children.
• Behaviour is positive and children are kind and helpful. They listen and respond eagerly to instructions. Children help each other. For example, they work cooperatively to fill up bird feeders and share ideas on where to hang them. Staff encourage children to follow the nursery rules. They remind children to walk inside and to find a partner to walk to the forest with safely.
• On the whole, children benefit from meaningful learning across the early years foundation stage curriculum. During planned targeted activities, staff use different teaching techniques to assess children's knowledge and understanding. However, there are occasions when staff do not always consider ways to adapt their teaching for children at different stages of development.
• Staff plan stimulating activities that generally sustain children's interest well. For example, children explore making bird nests with dough, straw and feathers, and staff share books about bird habitats during an Easter-themed activity. However, staff do not always fully support all children during group times. On occasion, the teaching is pitched too high. Some younger children become restless and are not fully engaged in learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to strengthen staff's confidence with teaching techniques to help them extend children's learning beyond what they already know and can do
• organise and plan adult-led activities so all children can fully engage in learning.