HoneyBea Partnership

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

When developing the sequential curriculum leaders and managers consider how children learn and help them to build skills over time. For example, staff provide children with many opportunities to develop physical strength in their arms and hands before progressing to writing. Babies thoroughly enjoy pushing and pulling trains through the flour to make marks. Toddlers explore the play dough with their hands, pulling, stretching, and patting it into different shapes; whereas older children use a range of tools purposefully to manipulate the dough.

Older children begin to develop the skills they need in readiness for their move to school. They are attentive and listen well to an elf story. They accurately answer mathematical questions, counting confidently and solving simple mathematical problems. Staff support less numerically confident children well, modelling number sequences and using their fingers to represent the count. Older and more confident children recall favourite stories as they make gingerbread people. They respond well to questions, retell the story and remember the repeated phrases. They receive praise, building high levels of self-esteem and a positive attitude to learning.

Children enjoy exploring large floor puzzles together in small groups. Staff interact well providing children with ideas to rehearse and practice so that they can complete the task. Children look at the picture, match colours or sort the edge pieces first. Children work well together and persevere when it becomes 'tricky' or 'complicated'.

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

• The curriculum is well-designed, overall. It provides children with a balanced range of experiences to help them develop their skills for future learning. Staff make regular observations to discover what children know and can do. They identify what children need to learn next successfully. However, staff do not always fully consider the needs and capabilities of those children who are two years old. For example, some younger children become disinterested in a lengthy story that is too challenging for their abilities and they lose focus and attention in their learning.
• Staff gather a range of information from parents when children first start. They use this information successfully to plan a range of experiences that support children's interests to help them settle. Staff regularly share information about the children's nursery day and their learning. Staff regularly review information about children's routines with parents so they can meet children's care needs efficiently.
• Staff use their training well to support children to develop good communication and language skills. For example, staff provide ongoing commentary as babies construct with the building blocks and introduce new vocabulary. Babies follow instructions well for example, to push the train 'under' the bridge. However, staff do not always encourage quieter and less confident children to participate in conversations, such as to discuss Christmas experiences or their designs.
• All children form strong bonds with familiar and friendly adults who know them well. Staff hold babies close as they feed and they receive cuddles and reassurance as they wake from naps. Staff welcome each child back into the room by name to help babies get to know their friends. Babies feel safe with their familiar adult for example, babies engage the inspector in a game of peekaboo, feeling confident to build relationships with others.
• On occasion, staff complete tasks that older children can do for themselves, such as pouring drinks. Staff do not always encourage older children to be creative and develop their ideas, for example when printing with apples. Staff do not always encourage babies to make choices for themselves. For example, although they use 'song spoons', it is staff who pick the songs for babies to sing.
• Even from an early age children learn behavioural expectations. For example, staff remind babies not to snatch a block from their friend and that they need to ask. Babies respond well signing 'please'. Toddlers recognise when they behave well for example, they comment on how well they are sharing the buttons and the play dough with their friends.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• organise group times to fully support those children who are two years old so that they remain engaged and interested in their learning
• provide opportunities for less confident speakers to be fully involved in conversations and to offer their views and ideas
• support older children further to develop independence and to explore their own ideas freely; support older babies to be involved in decisions about their play.