Flying Start

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children develop high levels of confidence. Children who are returning this term happily engage with each other in their choice of activities, both indoors and outdoors. New children to the setting are reassured, nurtured and engaged with through cuddles, soft voices and quiet activities. This helps them to feel secure in their new play environment during free-play sessions. Children have positive attitudes towards their ongoing learning.

Children learn to be independent in their play and in self-help skills. They use toilets independently, confidently asking for help when it is required. They decide where to play and which activities to engage in. They are given time to complete their play to their own satisfaction. They learn to put on coats and choose what to have at snack time, using these skills to prepare themselves in readiness for school.

Children communicate confidently through spoken word, gestures, expressions, pictorial aid and signing. Staff develop this confidence further by working closely with other speech and language specialists to introduce new strategies for all children. They use interactive toys to encourage speech and the introduction of new and more complex vocabulary.

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

• Children are valued for their individuality. Staff provide a highly inclusive environment. They take into consideration the individual care and learning needs of all children. Children's heritage, home language and culture are celebrated through activities, visits from parents and by reflecting on home life through everyday events.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive a personal approach to their particular needs. Staff work tirelessly with parents and other professionals to promote small steps in their children's development. Staff use sensitive and subtle teaching methods, such as engaging them with other children through their play. Children with SEND are making high levels of progress to close gaps in their development.
• Children quickly develop safe and secure attachments with familiar staff, seeking them out when they feel unsettled. In the main, staff engage with children well. They interact effectively during adult-led activities, using resources for a purpose, such as letters and sounds associated with children's names and familiar objects. Staff join in with children's choice of what and where to play, such as in the role-play areas. However, at times, staff do not consistently and spontaneously change their practice to engage with younger children to fully promote their emotional well-being, particularly in group activities, and to enrich more established children's learning further.
• Children develop close relationships with their peers. They learn to cooperate and negotiate through sensitive approaches from staff to positively support children's behaviour. Children feel proud of their achievements, developing high levels of self-esteem. For example, staff identify children who have listened, concentrated and played harmoniously with their friends by awarding them the 'gold cushion'. Children show their pride by hugging the cushion with a big smile on their face.
• Children have multiple opportunities to take part in sensory activities. For example, children have opportunities to play in the sensory garden, experimenting with the smells, sights, sounds and touch of different natural materials. Children choose to play with resources that test their knowledge of senses that are linked to their interests. For example, staff introduce bicarbonate of soda and vinegar to the dinosaur activity. Children listen to the sound it makes when the two are mixed together, watch the bubbles appear and smell the mixture, resulting in their expressions of awe and wonder.
• The whole staff team show a great enthusiasm to improve. They work cohesively to help reflect on their teaching practice for all children. They regularly attend training and assess the best way to implement these new practices successfully. They work with a wealth of other professionals, such as health visitors, teachers, and other early years settings, to promote a continuous journey in children's learning.
• Parents make very positive comments about the care and attention to learning that their children receive. They develop close professional relationships with staff through different communication methods. Parents feel totally included in their child's ongoing development, gaining support as to how to promote the next steps of their children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance staff's knowledge of using spontaneous-play opportunities to provide a more consistent approach to promoting more-established children's communication and younger children's emotional wellbeing, particularly in group activities.