King William Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily and are warmly welcomed by a friendly, nurturing and long-established staff team. Children show a strong sense of belonging. They confidently find their pegs to hang up their bags and coats. Children are eager to learn and thoroughly enjoy the activities that are freely available. Their independence is supported well. For instance, children tend to their own physical needs and develop good self-care skills. During snack times, children pour their own drinks, peel their own fruit and clear away after themselves when they have finished.

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and, as a result, children behave well. Children know the routines and rules of the setting and demonstrate these throughout the day. For example, children recall the rules when they visit their mini allotment. They know that they must stay within the boundary and walk down the ramp to the allotment.

Children have plenty of opportunities to engage in physical exercise outside in the fresh air. They show high levels of enjoyment as they explore, run and climb on equipment. Children show good control as they ride on bicycles and scooters. These opportunities help to develop their core strength, coordination and balance.

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

• The long-standing manager is passionate about providing high-quality care and education. She has a clear vision for what she wants children to achieve, and this is embedded and understood by the staff. Children's progress is closely monitored, and they are well prepared for the new challenges they will encounter as they move on to school.
• The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those in receipt of additional funding, such as early years pupil premium, is good. Staff identify potential areas of need and use funding effectively to fully benefit each child it is allocated to. This has enabled the manager to purchase additional resources and to allow children to have experiences they might not get outside of the playgroup. For instance, children have visited the cinema and they learned about exotic animals when they visited the playgroup. Children with SEND and vulnerable children make good progress in their learning and development, and the use of funding helps to narrow the gap between them and their friends.
• Staff adapt their interactions appropriately to support children who speak English as an additional language. They use visuals and single words to help build children's understanding. However, children do not hear or use their home language during their time at the playgroup. This hinders their progress in making connections with what they know and in developing their confidence to speak English.
• Parents talk positively about the playgroup and the staff team. They are happy with the communication with the staff. There are opportunities for them to attend stay-and-play sessions, and they are able to talk with their child's key person on a regular basis. They comment that their children have grown in confidence since starting at the playgroup.
• Staff provide vast opportunities throughout the day for children to develop their communication and language skills. For instance, staff support children in small groups to develop their listening and attention skills and their speech. Staff listen intently to children and extend their language and thinking through good questioning. Children demonstrate their good communication as they add narratives and storylines to their role play. Children are able to participate in two-way conversations.
• Staff plan engaging activities that centre around children's learning needs and interests. For instance, children show deep concentration as they fill pots with soil and plant seeds. Children recall information well and show that they know what plants need to grow. Children estimate how many scoops of soil it will take to fill their pots. They wait patiently and take turns with other children well.
• Staff receive supervision meetings to support their professional development. However, the monitoring of their performance does not focus sharply on identifying areas for staff to further develop their teaching and interaction skills. Overall, staff's interactions with children are good. However, at times, staff miss opportunities to join in with children's self-initiated play to extend their experiences further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance support for children who speak English as an additional language to hear and use their home languages, to boost their understanding and confidence to speak English
• provide staff with strategies to improve extending children's play ideas and experiences when children are leading their own learning.