Goslings Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and build secure relationships with their key person and the other staff. The staff get to know the children extremely well, which helps children feel secure. Children receive a warm welcome on arrival and settle in quickly. New children benefit from a gradual settling-in programme that staff tailor to meet the child's individual needs. Children move freely around the room and outside area to explore and develop their own ideas. Children particularly enjoy the outdoor area, where they are free to investigate natural materials as they learn about the world around them.

Staff provide children with a bright, well-organised environment. A wide range of interesting activities are attractively laid out that ignite children's curiosity and invite them to play and learn. Children behave well throughout the day. They are kind to each other and are beginning to understand the needs of their friends. Staff are on hand to support children with sharing, turn-taking and other interactions. This means there are very few instances of poor behaviour. Staff are good role models and promote positive interactions between children. Staff are aware of children's individual needs, and they collaborate effectively with parents. These positive relationships provide continuity and support children to make good progress from their starting points.

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

• The manager and staff have a good understanding of each child, their families and their needs. Children learn about what makes them unique. They learn about different cultures and ways of life. This helps to support children to understand the world around them.
• Staff promote children's understanding of leading a healthy lifestyle effectively. Children enjoy healthy snacks. They actively describe the textures and tastes of fruit and discuss foods that have nutritional benefits for their bodies.
• The curriculum is a blend of child-led and adult-initiated activities that aim to cover all seven areas of learning. Staff use their knowledge of child development to plan activities based on the children's interests and next steps. They use open-ended questions to find out what children already know and extend that knowledge through meaningful interactions. For example, during an activity, staff ask the children what colours they can see. The children struggle to identify one of the colours. Staff extend children's knowledge by telling them the colour is 'blue'. Later, while picking paint, the children identify the blue paint.
• Children develop excellent independence and self-help skills. For example, children complete tasks independently at mealtimes and manage their own self-care routines well. Children make independent choices about their learning from the wide range of activities and resources. This means that children are well prepared to meet their own needs when they move on to school.
• Children enjoy exploring the outdoor area. They develop an interest in nature and have a good range of interesting resources, inspiring their play and imagination. Staff link the outdoor role-play area to topics and children's experiences. Children play with empty boxes and pretend they are in 'dinosaur land'. This means that children's imagination and creativity are positively enhanced.
• Managers understand the requirement for staff to complete a progress check for each child between the ages of two and three years. However, the procedures they have in place are not fully effective in helping to ensure that every progress check is completed in a timely manner.
• Overall, children benefit from and enjoy learning together as a whole group. They listen to their favourite stories read by staff, and staff encourage them to take turns choosing songs to sing. However, some children, including those that are younger, struggle to maintain attention at these times. They sometimes lose focus, become restless or walk away. This can cause disruption, which reduces other children's engagement and learning.
• Parents are very happy with the care the nursery provides. They report that their children love attending the setting and make good progress. Staff communicate well with parents. Parents get regular updates about their child's development and next steps along with activities to support learning at home. Staff offer parents guidance and information on key issues, such as potty training, dummies and irregular sleep patterns.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the planning and organisation of whole-group activities, considering the needs and abilities of all children within the group, so that all are equally engaged and their learning is maximised
• strengthen procedures for monitoring the completion of children's progress checks between the ages of two and three years and ensure that they are all completed in a timely manner.