First Footsteps (Anfield)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff are calm and approachable, and have built up lovely relationships with their key children, whom they know extremely well. On the whole, children engage well and are curious in their learning. Babies enjoy songs and join in with the actions, clapping happily when the song ends. Toddlers play a game, where they giggle excitedly as they wait to see what happens next. Pre-school children mix colours and talk about what changes are made. Overall, the curriculum is well established and children make good progress in their learning.

Routines and visual timetables support children to know what is happening now and next. Staff encourage children to have kind hands and be polite to each other. This helps to promote children's positive attitudes. Staff have a good awareness and understanding of local demographics and issues affecting families, such as lack of dental provision. They work in conjunction with local services to raise children's awareness of the importance of toothbrushing to help improve children's health and well-being. Staff offer a range of opportunities for children to explore the local area. They visit the local shop, where they take their shopping list and pay for their purchases. Babies go out in prams to feed the ducks and visit local sights.

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

• Staff assess children's learning and identify their next steps. Staff plan opportunities to develop children's learning and skills. Staff implement and sequence the curriculum effectively. This supports children to be ready for the next stage in their learning.
• Independence is promoted across the setting, with children encouraged to pour their own drinks, set the table and put on their own shoes and coats. However, staff do not teach some younger children how to learn new skills, such as drinking from an open cup, to develop their self-care skills further.
• Provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is effective overall. Children are well supported, and interventions are in place to support their learning. However, occasionally, some children do not receive prompt referral to outside agencies. Consequently, not all children receive swift outside support to help narrow the gaps in their learning.
• Staff promote the use of 'golden rules' and visual timetables. Staff encourage children to share and take turns during activities. They are well engaged and concentrate, showing a positive attitude towards their learning.
• Supervisions and appraisals take place regularly, as well as staff observations. Staff access a variety of training linked to making improvements to practice within the quality of education. This means the curriculum supports children's learning and development effectively.
• Staff place a high emphasis on promoting conversations, asking open-ended questions, and encouraging children to talk about their learning. Staff constantly narrate children's play, supplementing new words such as squash and squeeze when playing. This helps to promote communication and language and extend children's vocabulary further.
• Partnership with parents is a strength. Staff exchange information with parents on what children are learning and ideas of how to continue this learning at home. For example, they give details of the book children are learning about and provide suggested activities to extend this learning at home. This shares information about what children are learning and helps to offer a coordinated approach to children's learning.
• Children celebrate Christmas, Pancake Day and Easter. They also learn about celebrations important to other cultures and faiths, such as Chinese New Year. Children visit the local Chinese takeaway and implemented this into their role-play area. They cook and taste Chinese food and learn about the culture. This helps children to learn about festivals and celebrations that are important to them and others.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop children's self-care skills even further, particularly the younger children
• strengthen the assessment procedure for when there are possible gaps in children's learning, to ensure swift intervention is put in place for all children.