Freda's Community Playgroup and Pre-school

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy at this warm and welcoming nursery. Babies flourish with care from staff who are incredibly in tune with their needs. Staff quickly provide reassurance and encouragement where needed. Babies develop a sense of belonging as they find photographs on the 'family tree'. This helps them to form good attachments and feel safe and secure. Parents say that their children love coming here and enjoy each day.

Children are curious and enthusiastic learners. They benefit from engaging and purposeful experiences, such as learning about hibernation, exploring ice, and making winches for derailed trains. Children are motivated by the interesting range of available resources and explore them with increasing independence. Staff use questioning and their in-depth knowledge of children's development to extend learning opportunities and teach new things. This helps children to make good levels of progress from their starting points.

Children learn about how to be a positive member of their community. They visit the local garden centre and cafes. They have been part of the creation of a community eco-garden. Staff teach children about the people who help them with planned visits from the fire service and cave rescue team. Furthermore, children visit the library to borrow books and bake cakes with the local baker. This breadth of experiences gives children a great start to their education.

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

• Leaders plan an ambitious curriculum. Staff are confident about what children already know and what they are going to learn next. Observations of children's development are accurate and precise. This helps staff to plan effectively for children's next steps.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported to a high level. Staff work very well with wider professionals to ensure plans for children are delivered with integrity. This enables all children with SEND to achieve their full potential.
• Children enjoy being active in the large outdoor area. They develop their physical skills as they climb and explore. Children grow plants and herbs in the allotment. They tend to the nature area and observe insects in the 'bug hotel'. This helps to develop children's understanding of the world around them.
• Leaders swiftly identify any gaps in children's learning. For example, they have recognised the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on some children's communication and language development. Children now benefit from age-appropriate focus sessions to close these gaps. Babies are supported by staff who narrate their actions as they squash and roll dough. Staff animatedly read exciting stories to children, who immerse themselves in the experience. Children confidently sing favourite nursery rhymes with props and musical instruments. This helps them to learn and use new words.
• Overall, children behave well. They are clear about what is expected of them and follow the 'happy day rules'. Staff regularly praise children. However, this praise is not always specific and does not consistently highlight what children are being praised for. For example, children hear that they are a 'clever boy' or a 'good girl'. While they appreciate the recognition, this does not help children to further develop their sense of what is right or wrong.
• Parents and carers compliment the 'family feel' of this setting. They report that they are happy with how well their children are cared for by the 'lovely staff'. Parents know what their children are learning. They appreciate the detailed information they receive from their child's key person each day.
• The new management team has a very positive and enthusiastic ethos towards continuous improvement. Staff benefit from focused training. Leaders welcome staff's ideas to make positive changes through the 'improvement board'. For example, they have recently introduced toilet-training bags for parents to further support children's self-care skills at home.
• New staff and those in training feel well supported by the knowledgeable leaders. They receive a thorough induction to support them in their roles. The manager has identified how to coach and mentor staff to further elevate the level of teaching. However, these plans are still in their infancy and have not yet been fully implemented to raise the quality of all staff's interactions and teaching to the highest possible level.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help children to develop their sense of what is right and wrong through providing them with specific and purposeful praise
• enhance supervision arrangements to target mentoring and coaching, to raise the quality of teaching to an even higher level.