Humpty Dumpty Playschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children demonstrate strong bonds with their friends and the caring staff. They flourish in this nurturing home-from-home environment, greet their peers warmly at the start of the session and give them a welcoming hug. Children are highly motivated and eager to engage in the inspiring learning experiences staff provide. For example, they dress up in their favourite costumes, confidently match pairs of shoes and discuss the similarities and differences in their outfits. Children look in the mirror, show excellent control as they twirl around, and tell each other they look beautiful.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. They show wonderful manners and are consistently kind to others. They illustrated this as they thoughtfully found the tissue box for their younger peers. Staff acknowledge children's kindness at the welcome meeting, boosting their self-esteem. Children show excellent imagination. For example, they take on different roles and pretend to go to the shops. Children create shopping lists and recall what they have written as they shop. They learn the value of different coins as they pay for their food/groceries.

Staff work exceptionally well with other professionals involved in children's care and learning. Children who speak English as an additional language and those with identified gaps in their development receive an exceptional level of support. As a result, all children make outstanding progress from their starting points.

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

• Staff plan an exemplary curriculum that includes inspiring first-hand experiences. They tailor their teaching to each child's learning needs and use every opportunity to stimulate children's interests and increase their knowledge. Consequently, all children are extremely motivated to learn. For example, children work as a team to design and build a model castle. Staff skilfully asked them questions as they discuss doors and windows, to encourage them to think about shape and size. Older children confidently use tools such as scissors. Younger children show high levels of determination as they work out how to remove tape from the roll
• Staff work extremely well together. Children's safety is at the heart of everything they do. Staff are highly organised and use resources such as walkie talkies to communicate throughout the day. Consequently, routines run smoothly and this has a positive impact on children's emotional well-being. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure, and show high levels of self-esteem. They demonstrate excellent manners, welcome visitors into their play and proudly talk about drawings of their families.
• Staff are highly skilled at supporting children's mathematical development.
• Children draw circles, add written numbers and calculate their scores as they throw objects and practise skills of coordination.
• Staff support children's physical skills exceptionally well. Children frequently spend time outside and benefit from extensive exercise and fresh air. For instance, they initiate their own games and move guttering higher and lower to investigate how fast different objects move. Children build on their stamina as they transport water into the water tray. They show excellent problem-solving skills and learn about the concept of floating and sinking.
• Children develop an excellent awareness of healthy lifestyles. For example, they practise squeezing toothpaste onto toothbrushes. Children scrub model teeth with great enthusiasm and proudly tell visitors that they clean their teeth every day. As they brush, staff read them stories about going to the dentist. This leads to extensive discussions about foods that are good for their bodies.
• The manager and staff have highly effective partnerships with parents. They offer activity bags and a lending library to help parents guide and support children's learning at home. Parents comment on the extensive learning experiences that the staff provide for their children. They say children flourish in their care and have made outstanding progress since starting at the setting.
• The staff are highly experienced. They benefit from a passionate manager who has made significant improvements to the setting. For instance, children now have access to a wonderful wildlife garden. On the day of the inspection, they were seen exploring as they hunted for fairies. Children recalled past events with great enthusiasm, such as finding a frog. The manager and staff have attended significant amounts of training to enhance their skills and knowledge. They use funding exceptionally well to ensure every child can reach their full potential.