Highview Baby Unit

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children receive personalised care from practitioners who are highly sensitive to their needs. They form close and loving bonds with practitioners, who focus on helping them to thrive. Children feel safe and content in an environment that supports their care routines very well. For example, the unit has dedicated areas for feeding, sleeping and for meeting children's personal care needs. As a result, their personal and emotional needs are nurtured well and they are starting to understand what makes them unique. They are able to communicate their needs and preferences. For example, they play independently with their favourite toys but are able to turn to key adults for support when needed. Children understand that practitioners have high expectations of them and respond positively to praise. For example, they join in with celebrations, smiling, clapping and cheering with amazement, demonstrating pride in their own achievements. As a result, children's behaviour is good and they have a positive disposition to their learning.

In addition, children have access to spaces that support their early learning and development. For example, they confidently access spacious open areas that enable them to develop their physical skills, such as crawling and walking. Furthermore, children are learning the skills required to become competent communicators. They use a range of words during their play and interactions. This helps to reduce the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on children's social and language development. Parents express that they receive unique support that is specific to the development of very young children. They praise the open door policy, which is successful in providing them with reassurance and guidance.

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

• The manager uses self-evaluation to ensure that the setting continues to improve. As a result, practitioners are committed to ensuring the best opportunities for children to thrive. However, the manager does not ensure that all practitioners are as involved as they could be with the process of ensuring the quality of the provision. As a result, practitioners are not always able to extend children's learning to the highest level possible.
• The manager meets with practitioners regularly to discuss children's progress. As a result, practitioners are very clear on what their key children are to learn next as well as the support they will need. This helps to ensure that all children make progress in relation to their starting points. However, children are not provided with opportunities to use a toilet and so are limited to the progress they can make in this area of their development.
• The manager has developed a culture that supports practitioners to constantly reflect on their practice. For example, managers regularly observe practitioners' interactions with children and provide feedback on the impact for children's learning and development. As a result, practitioners are constantly improving their teaching and children are supported to achieve their very best.
• Practitioners have a deep understanding of how children learn and develop. They use this knowledge to support and extend children's skills and knowledge. For example, children define their large-muscle skills to be able to pedal bicycles and climb steps using alternate feet. As a result, children rapidly build on what they know and can do.
• Children, including those who speak English as an additional language, have their communication skills supported well by practitioners who skilfully interact with them. Children sing with enthusiasm while carrying out actions to their favourite nursery rhymes, such as 'Wind the Bobbin Up'. As a result, children learn and use words rapidly with increasing confidence and fluency.
• A love of books is promoted well in the setting. There is a comfy and welcoming reading area, where children enjoy relaxing and reading books. Children select their favourite books, such as 'Spot the Dog'. They point to the pictures in books and take great care when turning the pages. As a result, children are developing a secure foundation on which to develop their very early literacy skills.
• Practitioners work in close partnership with parents to support children's specific care needs. This is particularly so with regards to weaning and ensuring that children's individual dietary needs are met. This helps to ensure that young children's nutritional needs are met and their physical health is promoted.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• further involve practitioners in the processes of self-evaluation, in order to make clearer their understanding of the setting's priorities for improvement
• ensure that children are provided with opportunities to use the toilet in order to further develop their toileting skills.