Humpty Dumpty Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish in this highly stimulating and nurturing setting. They run into the arms of warm and friendly staff, who respond affectionately. Children's well-being is high. Dedicated staff meet their individual needs consistently and are evidently passionate about ensuring that all children reach their full potential. Children feel safe and secure. They have excellent bonds with their key person, who provides them with tender care.

Staff plan an exciting curriculum, ensuring that children build on their existing skills and make excellent progress in all areas of development. They use funding effectively to ensure that children make the progress they are capable of within an inclusive environment. Staff adapt babies' routines to meet their needs so that active learning can take place. Babies learn to feed themselves and try new foods through an effective weaning process, which is designed by the setting's on-site nutritionist. Toddlers learn to use a fork and scrape their food leftovers into the bin and place their dirty plates into the sink. Older children are equally independent. They prepare and serve themselves food. They develop strong concentration skills as they carefully manipulate china crockery to pour their own drinks.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. Staff help children to understand simple rules and build on these as children become older to ensure a consistent approach across the setting. Older babies spontaneously give their peers a hug. Toddlers play cooperatively, and pre-school children kindly offer their friends their resources once they have finished playing with them.

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

• The manager has high expectations for the team. As staff complete training, they immediately implement new ideas into practice, such as interactive games to improve children's communication and language skills to their highest level. The manager's consistent and supportive approach to staff, using supervision meetings, peer observations, and celebrating staff success, ensures an outstanding practice, which meets the needs of all children.
• Staff work exceptionally well with parents by involving them in all aspects of their children's learning and development. Detailed information is consistently shared, including when children move between rooms for different age groups, attend other providers and when they transition on to school. Parents unanimously state how children have made excellent progress from their starting points and comment on the highly committed staff.
• Children have excellent opportunities to learn about the world around them. Staff take children on regular visits within the community and help those children in military families to feel included. For instance, children visit the naval college and observe the cannons and marching parade. Children engage in observational drawings, where they create a picture of the 'bandstand'.
• Staff actively embrace children's interests. For example, when older children had porridge for snack, they talked about the story of 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'. Staff took children on the bus to visit the nearby library, where they borrowed the book and then created the story at the setting. Children show delight when comparing the sizes of teddy bears, measuring out oats and retelling their favourite story.
• All children have strong opportunities to explore and experiment. Staff enthusiastically encourage babies to move their hands and feet in rice to support their sensory development. They support less confident toddlers to create 'birthday cakes' using coloured foam, bun cases and sticks to represent candles. Staff model how to make play dough with older children so they can make this independently using the freely accessible ingredients. Outside, children explore coffee granules, pine needles and herbs and use these to create 'magic potions'. Staff encourage them to develop their creativity and experiment in a variety of ways.
• Staff support children's communication and language exceptionally well. They build on their vocabulary, regularly introducing new words as children play. Children use their newfound knowledge, such as through role-play activities, where they expertly narrate the story of 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea'. All children are articulate communicators.
• Every child has daily access to the outdoor environment, which is filled with an exciting range of resources for them to access. During warmer months, babies take their naps in the fresh air. A superb new outdoor space provides toddlers and older children with an amazing space to play. Children enjoy woodwork sessions, where they use real tools, and have free access to flour, salt and clay. Using these resources, they enjoy making marks to support their early writing skills.
• Stories, rhymes and songs play a key part in children's learning. All children benefit from regular singing and story times, including musical activities that external agencies provide. A 'lending library' scheme enables children to borrow books, and parents make use of informative literature to take home.