Great Shefford Under Fives

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly welcomed into this inspirational setting, where they develop an exceptionally strong sense of community. They provide an integral part of community life and take part in village events, such as providing donations for Harvest Festival, decorating the church to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee, and laying wreaths for Remembrance Day. Children learn to respect and think of others, and their behaviour is excellent. They are observed negotiating with each other to solve problems. They offer to share their play dough and show impeccable manners, waiting for everyone to sit down before commencing their meal. Children are kind, helpful and caring towards others.

Staff support children's communication skills extremely well. Staff engage in meaningful conversations with the children, adapting their language to support children's individual needs. Children confidently use new words, such as remembering the gifts in the nativity story as gold, frankincense and myrrh. Children can take a book home with them each week and from a library van that visits every 3 weeks, enabling them to build on their language skills at home.

Children develop exceptional early mathematics skills. Staff skilfully incorporate mathematics and problem solving into everyday interactions. In a throwing game, children calculate how many turns they have left and whose turn it is next. They also make marks to record the results, working out who has hit the target the most.

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

• The manager is inspirational. The dedication she and her team give to the care and education of the children who attend the provision is outstanding. They go beyond expectations in helping those families in need of additional support. For example, the manager accompanies parents to advice groups to support their children's development.
• The manager provides an exciting and engaging curriculum. Children learn from an exceptional range of activities and opportunities. For instance, they fly kites in the park, cook sausages on campfires, learn about musical instruments from different countries and simulate milking a cow to learn where milk comes from. Children are highly engaged in their learning and make excellent progress.
• Staff provide an abundance of opportunities for the children to learn outdoors. For instance, they visit the local woods, paddle in the village stream and walk through the wildflower meadows. Children learn about how trees provide oxygen for us to breathe. They consider the environmental impact of their activities, ensuring there is no salt in the dough they make to decorate the trees, for example. Children develop a love and respect for nature.
• Children show high levels of independence and confidence. They independently dress themselves for forest school, making appropriate choices of what clothes they need to keep warm. Children persevere with challenges, such as when trying to fasten some buttons or putting their fingers in their gloves. Staff skilfully ask if children need help before stepping in to provide support. Children develop pride and a sense of achievement, knowing they can do things for themselves.
• Staff are highly skilled at seizing spontaneous opportunities to develop children's knowledge and understanding. For example, children learn why shadows appear on their walk in the sun. Watching and listening to the birds prompts a discussion on why birds need bird feeders in winter. Children learn from meaningful experiences.
• Children's health is supported tremendously well. Children learn healthy practices, such as healthy foods, exercise and the importance of sleep. Parents are encouraged to make healthy choices for the children when providing packed lunches and have access to information from a dietician on how to support healthy eating.
• Children take part in a range of celebrations and learn about similarities and differences. For example, the children were visited by a hearing dog to learn about how they support people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Books, puzzles, games and resources at the setting represent society as a whole, which helps children to learn about life in modern Britain.
• Partnership with parents is exemplary. Each child is visited at home prior to starting the setting, to help their transition. Parents are exceptionally well informed about their children's learning. Staff meet regularly with parents to discuss their children's progress and share how learning can be supported at home. Children make excellent progress from their starting points.
• The manager implements robust measures to support staff's continued professional development. Targeted training has deepened staff's understanding of how to support children's specific needs. The manager recognises staff's strengths and interests, supporting training that promotes these further.