Jack and Jill Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and secure and settle quickly into the playgroup routines. They display good attitudes towards learning and are enthusiastic and engaged. Children make their own choices in the resources they use and this helps to support their changing interests and abilities. Children are kind, caring and behave well. They are able to express their own needs and manage their emotions. Staff are effective role models who encourage children to use good manners. This helps children to gain an early understanding of respecting the needs of others around them.

Children are confident and self-assured. Staff take time each day to ask children to share their experiences and changing likes, to promote children's self-esteem. Children are learning about making good choices in the food they eat. They enter into discussions about what is a healthy breakfast. Older children are able to tell staff that they should only eat a small amount of sugar to take care of their teeth. Children are developing independence in their own self-care skills, such as noticing when they are cold or need to drink water to stay hydrated. This helps children to build on the skills they require for their future learning.

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

• This community playgroup prides itself on having a team of staff who have dedicated many years towards their roles and responsibilities. The manager recognises the importance of evaluation and reflecting on all areas of the playgroup to improve the learning and development of children. She has started to plan more professional training opportunities to support staff's practice and knowledge, for example how they can further support children's speech and language.
• Children are able to communicate well. Staff consistently challenge children and introduce new words to build on their increasing vocabulary. Children are given time to answer questions posed to them, which helps them to build on their confidence in making their own suggestions and ideas. Children are able to use their impressive recall and memory skills. For example, as children play with small-world animals, they talk about hippos living in rivers and about elephants sucking up water with their trunks.
• Staff watch children's development carefully. They are quick to identify potential gaps in children's learning, to provide additional support if required. Children make steady progress, including those who receive additional funding. The next steps planned for children's development provide additional challenges to help them to reach their fullest potential.
• Children listen intently at story time as staff read engaging stories in whole-group sessions. Children are given choices about the books they wish to read together and this helps them to learn to take turns and share. However, staff have not fully considered children's independent access to a wider range of books and how to further encourage and support this in other areas of learning.
• Children are starting to use simple mathematics in their play. For example, they problem-solve as they complete intricate jigsaws and rotate pieces to make them fit. Children notice similar-coloured items and use their increasing hand-to-eye coordination to transfer small pasta pieces with tweezers into different-sized containers. This also helps children to learn about weight and volume.
• Staff take time to plan an exciting learning environment that helps children to be enthralled and immersed in their play. Children have space to fully explore and investigate, to build further on their increasing skills. However, children do not have an area for quieter times out of the busy environment, to support their emotional well-being if required.
• Partnerships with parents are good and staff have worked well on this as a recommendation from their last inspection. The staff prioritise sharing information to provide a joined-up approach towards children's learning. There is a very sharp focus on supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Children have lots of opportunities to be physically active with time spent outdoors in the fresh air. They learn new skills, such as balancing, throwing and catching, while also managing simple risks when outdoors. Children are starting to notice changes in their bodies, to build on their self-awareness and resilience. For example, during dancing time, they talk about their hearts beating faster.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the organisation of books to help and encourage children's independent use, to further support their literacy development
• create a quiet space for children to have time away from the busy learning environment if required, to support their emotional well-being.