Golden Lane Childrens Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders and staff create a warm and welcoming environment, where children feel safe and supported emotionally. They are kind, nurturing and attentive. This helps children to build strong relationships with their peers and adults. Children arrive happily and eagerly engage in stimulating activities, which promote their well-being. There are clear and consistent expectations for children's behaviour in place. Staff patiently explain why some behaviours are unacceptable. Children show respect for others, encourage their friends to join in and take turns. Staff consistently offer praise, which helps to boost children's confidence as they learn new skills.

Staff help children to develop positive identities by planning events, such as cultural days, to foster their respect and understanding for different backgrounds. Leaders support staff to carry out ongoing assessments and meaningful observations to understand children's starting points in development. This enables staff to plan an engaging curriculum based on children's interests. Staff also organise outings linked to children's current learning, such as visits to the local fire station. This helps children to make connections and deepen their understanding. Children are enthusiastic and active learners. They enjoy adding glitter to coloured rice to watch the changes. Children play well with their peers and benefit from indoor and outdoor activities. These experiences support their overall development and confidence.

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

• Leaders provide strong support to staff, who highly value the personal and professional guidance they receive. They ensure that staff have access to appropriate training to enhance their practice. Leaders allocate time and resources for staff to pursue further qualifications. Overall, this enables staff to support children's development effectively.
• Leaders and staff clearly understand their roles. They work well with parents and carers and other professionals, including local authority teams and health visitors, to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They make timely referrals and implement targeted strategies to help every child succeed.
• Leaders work in partnership with key persons and parents to make effective use of the early years pupil premium funding to enhance children's education. Together, they identify how the funding can best address gaps in children's development. For instance, managers allocate resources toward additional staff and targeted materials that support each child's next steps in learning. As a result, children who benefit from the funding make strong progress in their learning.
• Staff engage positively with children and actively join in their play. They are enthusiastic in supporting children's learning. Staff consistently give children time to think and respond to questions, helping to develop their thinking skills. They also hold engaging story time sessions, using props that support children's language and communication development effectively.
• Staff promotes healthy attitudes, such as by discussing nutritious meals with children during mealtimes. They eat alongside children to model good habits. Staff provide regular physical activities for children of all ages, including daily toothbrushing for toddlers and weekly sports sessions for nursery children. This supports children's physical health and understanding of personal care.
• Generally, staff support children well in developing their physical skills. Children strengthen the small muscles in their hands by using a variety of materials and tools. However, at times, staff do not consistently provide older children with enough opportunities to further develop their core strength, coordination and large-muscle skills. As a result, they have fewer chances to learn how to safely manage risks during play.
• Overall, staff support children's independence well, particularly in younger babies who are encouraged to feed themselves. However, older toddlers and pre-schoolers are not consistently given chances to practise and extend their independence. For example, by collecting their own resources during group activities. This limits their ability to build on existing skills and develop greater independence over time.
• Parents deeply value the support that staff provide for their children. They frequently mention how eager their children are to attend the setting. Parents also appreciate the practical guidance that staff offer, including strategies to help them support their children's learning at home. This strengthens children's learning at home and enhances their overall development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enrich opportunities for older children to take risks in their play and practise and refine their gross motor skills
• ensure that staff consistently recognise and extend opportunities for children to develop their independence.