First Steps Childcare (Cambridgeshire) LTD

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children feel safe and secure as they confidently greet visitors with a welcoming wave and a beaming smile. Staff prioritise supporting children's physical, social and emotional well-being. The forest school offers a natural environment, with freedom and space, where children develop strength and resilience, while learning through their senses. From an early age, children confidently express their feelings and develop a positive self-esteem. The grand piano and real-life role play resources further develop children's understanding of the world they live in. Children delight in visiting the role play cafe for a cup of tea, while their peers serenade them with a gleeful tune on the recorders.

Children's love of reading is clear to see throughout the setting. Additionally, children benefit from opportunities to draw and write with a purpose. Relationships with young children are sensitive, stimulating and responsive. As a result, children form secure attachments, which promotes their independence and a love of learning. Young children learn through meaningful sensory experiences. They giggle alongside the staff as they clap 'gloop' between their hands and revel in being splashed.

Children are motivated to learn and keen to persevere. There are opportunities to interact with children of different ages. This has a positive impact on children's early social development and supports smooth transitions to the next stages of their learning. Children make solid friendships and are supported effectively to understand and respect the feelings of others. If a child is upset, staff offer them comfort and reassurance. Staff praise good manners. Children's behaviour is good and they understand what is expected of them. Staff consistently use highly effective action to support children who struggle to regulate their behaviour.

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

• A thoughtfully designed and equally stimulating learning environment supports the intent of an ambitious and coherently planned and sequenced curriculum. Resources provided are inclusive, instilling a sense of self in children. The positive impact on children is evident as they show high levels of concentration and engagement during activities.
• An effective key-person system is in place. Any additional support for children is identified early, and they all make good progress from their starting points.
• Children's communication and language development are prioritised. Children with delayed speech and language benefit from effective targeted interventions delivered by trained staff. As a result, all children make good progress in their communication and language development, including those who speak English as an additional language. Children confidently share their thoughts with staff and their peers. However, staff do not build on children's existing knowledge to consolidate and deepen their knowledge, understanding and skills across the seven areas of learning.
• Mathematics teaching is delivered by staff in a way that is expertly designed to help children remember long term what they have been taught. Children talk about the time they found some woodlice in the forest, and that they had counted them and there was more than 10. The impact of this meaningful and integrated teaching is that children securely understand the mathematical concepts appropriate to their age and stage of development. However, staff do not always extend and challenge the most able children's mathematical knowledge.
• Staff build trustworthy and friendly relationships with parents. Parents are delighted with the progress children make and they report that care and communication are excellent. Parents report how daily communications and collaborative working further extends their child's confidence and willingness to learn at home. Additionally, parents of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities report that they feel extremely valued as an integral part of their child's well-being and education. They are regularly invited to meetings with other agencies, such as health and education professionals, to support their child.
• The management team and staff have a clear and ambitious vision for improvement to providing high-quality, inclusive care and education for all. This includes more experienced staff modelling their good teaching practice to help less confident staff teach at a higher level. The manager regularly meets for supervisions with staff to review practice. The manager sets expectations of staff that are realistic, including workload and training. All staff report high levels of support for their well-being. Because of this, children experience a predictable, consistent and positive environment and happily lead their own learning.
• There are clear and consistent messages to children that support healthy choices around food, exercise and the importance of relaxation. Good hygiene practices ensure all children's needs are met. Parents say they are highly reassured that their child's health needs are given priority. Staff encourage children to become increasingly independent in managing their personal needs.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on already good teaching to further support and develop children's individual learning goals, and to challenge and deepen children's knowledge and understanding across the seven areas of learning.