Godinton Playschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff welcome children with a smile at this friendly setting. Children come in happily. They eagerly find their name cards and post them in the post box to show that they are here. They excitedly explore the activities on offer, remaining engaged and interested in creating their own firework pictures. These encourage positive attitudes to their learning. Staff promote children's independence successfully. Children put on their own coats and shoes and wipe their own faces after lunch, putting the tissues in the bin. This supports children's understanding of how to manage their own needs and keep themselves healthy and safe.

Children benefit from a well-planned curriculum tailored to their individual needs and interests. For example, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Staff have undertaken specific training in sign language to ensure that children make good progress. Children who were non-verbal when they started are now confident communicators. Staff have high expectations of children. They praise and encourage them, celebrating their achievements by giving them a 'high-five' when they succeed. This successfully develops their good behaviour. Staff promote children's well-being. Children record their friends' acts of kindness and put them on the 'kindness tree' for everyone to see. This develops their self-esteem and confidence effectively.

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

• Leaders and managers are passionate about ensuring that the playschool is at the heart of the local community. They have ambitious plans for the future of the setting. They want to invest further in the outdoor space to develop children's understanding of the natural world. Leaders and managers access good support from the local authority to support their own knowledge and skills.
• Staff use additional funding effectively to support children's learning. For instance, they have created a lending library, so they can share books with children and their families. Children delight in choosing favourite stories to take home. They develop a love of books and reading.
• Leaders and managers prioritise staff's well-being. They help and support them. For example, leaders and managers help to complete housing applications and provide advice and guidance. Staff say that they love working at the setting and feel valued by current leaders and managers. They are hardworking and committed. However, arrangements for supervision sessions are not fully effective in identifying staff's specific professional development needs.
• Staff promote children's literacy skills well. Children sustain high levels of concentration when making their own pictures at the craft table. They chat and talk with staff and each other, sharing what they have made. Staff hold thoughtful conversations with children. These help to develop their language skills well.
• Children benefit from staff who know them well. Staff plan activities based on children's needs and interests. For example, children delight in looking for the pet squirrel outside and recording when they have seen it. They enjoy exploring puddles and talking with staff about how they are made. This encourages children's knowledge and understanding.
• Partnerships with parents are positive. Parents appreciate the events they are invited to and the caring nature of the staff. They report that their children have made progress in their confidence, friendships and language. Staff communicate well with parents. They share ideas to help them with their children's learning at home. For example, children enjoy taking home Bongo the Bear and recording his adventures.
• Staff provide children with a range of additional sessions, such as gymnastics and yoga, to support their wider learning. Children know the routines well. They quickly join in with an obstacle course, learning how to warm up and feel their heart rate. This supports their understanding of how their bodies work and of healthy lifestyles.
• Children benefit from a language-rich environment. Staff support children well to join in with songs and rhymes. They are good role models. They demonstrate actions to new rhymes and are patient and kind in their approach. Children enjoy joining in with their favourite rhymes, which encourage their listening and attention skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen supervision arrangements to focus more effectively on staff's ongoing professional development.