Holy Trinity Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly welcomed into the setting. From the moment they arrive, staff encourage their independence. For example, pre-school children place their fruit for snack time on the tray outside the door, find their photo and name to put above their peg, and hang their coats and bags. Staff support toddlers to hang their coats, with lots of praise and encouragement. This builds children's confidence. Children know the routines well. They are calm and settle quickly into activities that interest them. For example, some children enthusiastically join a staff member to make play dough while they talk about the ingredients they need.

The setting provides a wide range of activities to suit children's needs and interests. For example, children enjoy physical play as they balance on ramps inside, and ride on trikes outside. They confidently use a slide in the garden. They enjoy pouring coloured water and painting the fence with water. Children show high levels of concentration and engagement while playing.

Children and staff talk about shapes while they make craft pancakes. This extends children's mathematical language. Staff support children to confidently share their ideas. Children listen and respond positively to adults and each other. They share activities well. Staff encourage children to use words such as 'please' and 'thank you' throughout the day. This supports children to build kind and respectful relationships. The setting promotes a love for stories. For example, the library system encourages story sharing at home. Staff and children regularly share stories in the reading area and in groups. Children often choose to sit alone or with their friends to enjoy a book.

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

• Staff have high expectations for behaviour. Children are given support to understand and manage their emotions. For example, staff share carefully selected stories to support the children's learning. They discuss the characters' feelings and this helps children to understand their own emotions and how to manage them. Children are settled and calm in the setting.
• Leadership is strong, with a clear and ambitious vision for high-quality education for all children in the setting. Staff understand that all children are unique and value their input. They use their observations and discussions with the children to plan stimulating activities that build on the children's learning. This means that children are engaged and show high levels of curiosity and focus with activities. All children are making good progress from their starting points and are ready for the next stage of their learning or going to school.
• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is well thought out. Leaders make sure that all children are receiving the full entitlement to any funding. They organise staff thoughtfully to make sure that children receive good support. For example, leaders organise daily speaking groups to support children's language development. Children show confidence to speak and share their ideas during these sessions.
• Leaders have established a clear curriculum for communication and language. Children are making progress with their speech development. On rare occasions, some staff do not always promote high levels of interaction with all children. Therefore, at times, some children are not fully engaged in activities.
• The setting values equality and diversity. Staff gather detailed information from parents to understand children's individual needs and family backgrounds. They reflect this diversity in the setting with their new starters board and learning about celebrations and festivals. Children are supported to show respect and tolerance towards others. They begin to learn the importance of embracing similarities and differences.
• Partnerships with parents are strong and communication is effective. Parents comment that they receive updates on their child's learning verbally and through a contact book. They report that the setting has helped with their child's language skills and confidence. Parents feel that the setting supports their children to make good progress and prepares them for school.
• Leaders engage very well with the community. For example, they visit the local care home and have links with the church and local school. All pre-school children take part in weekly forest-school sessions. This broadens children's experiences and prepares them for life in modern Britain.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to promote high levels of interaction with all children to help them fully engage in activities.