Hadrian Bears Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The playgroup has a warm and welcoming atmosphere, in which children play happily. Staff are attentive, kind and caring, which helps children to feel safe and secure. They know when children may need a little extra support to feel confident. For example, a child who has had an unsettled morning is very quickly reassured by their key person on arrival. Staff expect children to be polite and respectful. Their gentle reminders for good behaviour help children to learn right from wrong.

The well-planned curriculum helps all children to learn. Staff plan activities, linked to topics, that are focused around what they want children to learn. They vary their teaching to make sure that all children are supported and challenged at an appropriate level. Focused small-group activities help children to make faster progress when they need extra help in some areas of learning. For example, young children practise new words and their meanings during stories and songs about animals. Children are keen to join in the appealing activities offered. Young children enjoy watering plants outdoors. Older children concentrate hard when cutting and sticking to make a picture. They make 'ice creams' from dough and chat excitedly about what they like to do at the beach.

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

• Staff are enthusiastic and engaging. Their energetic and fun approach greatly encourages children's involvement in activities. Children become absorbed in their learning and staff support this very well during play. For example, while playing with sand, staff weave in language related to numbers, size and capacity. This contributes to the good early mathematics skills that children demonstrate.
• Children develop a love of stories. Staff support this well by introducing books during activities. They use familiar stories and rhymes to help children to remember what they have learned. Children extend their vocabulary and develop a good understanding of the structure of books.
• Staff consider what individual children can already do and need to learn next. This helps to tailor their learning to their specific needs. Children who speak English as an additional language benefit from an increased focus on helping them to develop their speaking and understanding skills. This helps them to make remarkable progress in their language development, in both English and their first language.
• Partnerships with parents and other professionals help to provide a consistent approach to children's learning. Staff share their teaching plans to ensure that children are supported at playgroup, at home and at other settings they attend. Together, they work towards shared learning goals. Parents value the 'wow moment' notes that staff send them to share children's particular achievements.
• The manager gives feedback to staff on their performance and encourages them to attend regular training. Staff report that they feel well supported, and their morale is high. However, supervision and professional development arrangements are not always focused enough to help staff to build on their good teaching in order to support children's learning even more effectively.
• Children develop good social skills and make friends in playgroup. At times, however, when children are excited or involved in very active play, staff do not help them to learn how to regulate their own behaviour. Children sometimes need more help to understand how to keep themselves safe, or overlook how their actions affect others. For example, children who run very fast outdoors risk bumping into others and falling over.
• Staff offer children plenty of positive encouragement and praise during play. This helps children to grow in confidence and self-esteem. Children show great pride in their achievements. For instance, when they show adults the ramps and tracks they have created for vehicles, they exclaim, 'Look what we did. We are clever!'
• Staff give children consistent messages about healthy choices and habits. They talk to children about the nutritious foods they eat at snack time and in their packed lunches. Children are familiar with routines, such as handwashing, that promote their good health. They benefit from plenty of fresh air and exercise during outdoor play.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus the arrangements for staff supervision and development more precisely to raise the already good quality of education to even higher levels
• help children to learn how to regulate their own behaviour and about ways to keep themselves safe.