Fun Start Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are eager to attend this warm and inviting setting. They seek out their friends and happily engage in their play. Children show confidence as they independently access the large range of age-appropriate resources. They develop a range of skills as they engage in various activities. For example, outdoors, they use crates to build a train and take it in turns to drive. Indoors, they role play as they pretend to cook food and look after their babies. This builds on what children already know and further develops their social and imaginative skills.

Children listen to and follow instructions well and understand the rules and routine of the day, giving them security and confidence. They start to manage their own feelings and try to sort out any disagreements. For example, if children want the same toy, they get the sand timer. They explain to the inspector that it is their turn when all the sand has gone. They also offer each other support and help. For example, if children are struggling to turn on the taps to wash their hands, other children will demonstrate how to do this. They turn on the taps and show them how to get the soap out. This shows that children are developing their awareness of feelings and emotions for both themselves and those around them.

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

• The manager and staff have high expectations of the children. This includes those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. Staff access training, and this has a positive impact on the care and education children receive. Staff have regular supervisions to discuss children and their own well-being, and they feel that the managers support them well.
• Staff ensure that all children have appropriate goals for their next stages of learning. They monitor and assess the impact of activities on the children's learning. Staff use children's interests to engage them in activities. For example, the children make boats with junk modelling. Staff extend the activity by encouraging the children to test which boat floats and which does not. However, children do not always have time to process the information to enable them to find a solution to problems and therefore further develop their already good problem-solving skills.
• Staff model good language and communicate well in their interactions with the children. Children talk to staff and their friends throughout the day. They listen to stories and enjoy singing songs. However, staff do not always use these opportunities to extend children's language further and introduce new and wider vocabulary into the children's learning.
• Parents are keen to tell the inspector how happy they are with the setting. They comment that their children have 'come on leaps and bounds' since they started.
• Parents feel well supported and comment that they get good communication from the setting, both verbally and through an online system. Parents have termly reports and meetings to discuss their child's progress. They attend events, such as Mother's Day tea and Father's Day picnics, as well as fundraising events throughout the year.
• Children's care needs are well catered for. Staff are sensitive to their individual needs. Children bring a packed lunch from home. Children are provided with a snack of fruit or cereal and with a drink of water or milk. The children self-serve their snack and pour their own drinks. This helps to develop their independence and fine motor skills. Staff encourage the children to brush their teeth every morning. This helps children to learn about healthy lifestyles.
• Children's curriculum-based experiences of the world around them are varied. For example, they receive visits from the farm on wheels and from local dentists, and they engage in activities such as dancing. Children also go to the local supermarket and have even had a go on the tills. Different cultures are embraced in the resources provided at the setting, and staff invite parents to discuss their culture with the children. This helps children to learn about the wider community and prepares them for life in modern Britain.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide children with the time and opportunity to investigate and explore activities, to enable them to further increase their problem-solving skills
• support staff to understand how to extend children's language even further and introduce a wider vocabulary into their learning.