Highley Minors Childcare Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff welcome and support children's views. For example, when children tell them that when they grow up they want to be a 'clock maker', staff provide children with opportunities to further explore this. Children build 'Big Ben' out of magnetic shapes, and they carefully draw the hands on a pre-drawn clock face. When children ask inquisitive questions, staff help them to use technology to find the answers. This extends children's understanding and happiness.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities greatly benefit from sensitive staff who support them to make choices. For instance, staff sign 'spoon' at mealtimes to ensure that they understand what cutlery children want. They use communication aids and one-to-one time to encourage children to communicate their feelings and needs. This promotes children's good behaviour.

Staff supervise children and encourage them to do things for themselves. For instance, they use a step to enable children to climb safely onto the nappy changing table. Children learn to scrape their own bowls after eating their lunch, and they show a willingness to tidy up. These opportunities help children to develop good levels of self-care and build their independence.

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

• Staff use additional funding well to support disadvantaged children and those falling behind in their development. For example, some staff have received specialised training to enable them to deliver 'talk boost' programmes. Staff use sign language, pictures and real objects to reinforce children's vocabulary growth. They model clear language and repeat words back to children. Parents say they are 'thankful for the support staff give their children, including how they nurture their speech'.
• Those staff who work with older children effortlessly adapt their practice to ensure that teaching constantly engages children. At times, the continuous provision within the baby room is not organised as well as it could be to engage babies in purposeful play. This means their learning is not always maximised.
• The manager provides staff with regular opportunities to attend staff meetings and individual supervisions. For instance, since the last inspection, the manager and staff team have evaluated the curriculum to support the developmental needs of the current cohort of children. However, the manager is yet to implement effective monitoring of staff practice to identify how to further strengthen teaching and learning.
• Mathematics is weaved through the curriculum. For instance, children play matching games where they confidently pair numerals to their quantities and discuss familiar shapes seen in the environment. Staff challenge children's thinking skills by introducing new concepts, such as size language and prepositions. Consequently, toddlers learn why an oblong is different to a square.
• Children benefit from activities to promote their fine and gross motor skills. For example, staff provide children with self-opening scissors to help them successfully cut their paper. Outdoors, toddlers ride bicycles with good control as they play a game of 'stop and go'. They strengthen their finger and thumb muscles as they join in with action songs about 'the tools' they use to eat their food.
• Excellent routines are in place to reinforce healthy messages to children. For example, staff teach children about the importance of oral health and promote healthy eating conversations. Toddlers say, 'I brush my teeth twice a day,' and they know that an 'apple' is healthy. Babies repeatedly babble 'banana', demonstrating their excitement when making healthy eating choices.
• Staff establish excellent relationships with parents and carers and other professionals involved in a child's life. For instance, they invite parents and health visitors into the setting to discuss the progress check for two-year-olds. This ensures that children receive holistic support.
• Staff highly value other professionals' involvement. They use their knowledge as an extension of their own. For instance, they use the same attention-building games to support children who find listening and attention challenging. This promotes continuity in children's learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• evaluate the continuous provision to ensure that younger children are consistently engaged in purposeful play
• develop a stronger oversight of staff practice to further support the quality of teaching and learning.