Jack and Jill Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff create a warm and welcoming environment for children to help them feel safe and secure when they arrive. Children who are unsettled receive caring, sensitive support and reassurance from staff as they leave their parents.

The qualified and experienced staff provide exciting and engaging forest-school sessions, where children get plenty of fresh air and exercise. Staff support children to understand the natural world as they take pleasure in searching for bugs together. Staff teach them how to handle insects with care and spend time looking at their fascinating features. As a result, children are keen and motivated to learn. They are eager to carry out their investigations independently, using tools such as magnifying glasses and binoculars to examine them in detail.

Staff have high expectations of behaviour and regularly remind children of the playgroup rules. As a result, children learn about expectations and boundaries of good behaviour and, in turn, are kind and caring towards each other. For example, they enthusiastically dig in the mud pit and when dirt scatters on their friends they quickly dust them down apologetically.

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

• Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff involve parents in their children's learning and hold regular meetings with them to ensure that they are well informed about their children's development. Parents say their children have made good progress since attending the playgroup. Similarly, gaps in learning are beginning to close for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The special educational needs coordinator and manager work closely with parents and external agencies. They plan and monitor targeted teaching strategies to support children's development.
• Children confidently express their opinions, make informed choices and are independent learners. For example, they peel their own fruit at snack time, help themselves to water and take responsibility for their self-care and toileting needs throughout the day. Staff regularly praise children for their efforts. This helps to boost children's self-confidence.
• Children begin to learn about the importance of oral hygiene through related songs and discussions with staff. Children can identify and talk to staff about the impact that bad foods have on their teeth.
• Staff weave mathematics into daily activities. For example, staff encourage children to count how many staff members and children are in attendance for the session. Staff write the numbers on the whiteboard and children are confident in recognising them correctly.
• Children have fun playing games with staff, such as hide and seek. This helps them to build their social skills as they play with others, learn to take turns and work effectively in teams. Children develop problem-solving techniques as they find the best places to hide. They excitedly laugh and giggle in anticipation of being found.
• Children persevere and show a willingness to succeed when faced with challenging activities. For instance, children use all their strength and determination to operate the hand drill to make holes in wooden discs for necklaces. They follow instructions from staff to help keep themselves safe.
• The manager is reflective and accurately evaluates the playgroup. She has identified strengths and areas for further development, such as improving systems for children who speak English as an additional language. The manager strives to deliver high-quality care and education. However, sometimes when planning, staff focus more on activities they want to provide and less on what it is children need to know or do next to reach their full potential.
• Overall, staff support children's communication and language development well. They know children's interests and engage them in regular conversations during their play. However, on occasions, staff do not give children the opportunity to share their own thoughts and ideas. This means that, at times, children do not have the chance to develop their thinking skills and vocabulary even further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve planning to identify more precisely what children need to learn from an activity so that their learning is maximised
• strengthen staff's interactions with children further to offer them more support to think critically, share their own ideas and extend their learning.