Lamb Setts (Christchurch)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children benefit from a curriculum to support their personal, social and emotional development. They join staff and their peers each morning, say hello to everyone and sing songs with their friends. Staff help children identify the names of other children. This activity encourages children to learn and use other children's names when they play alongside them. Staff engage children with special educational needs and/or disabilities in one-to-one time, such as completing action rhymes, which helps them to develop their understanding of the actions linked to songs. Children form strong bonds with staff as they smile and laugh when they tickle their hands as they sing with them about a garden.

Children are encouraged to keep trying when they face challenges. For example, staff show children how to open and close small pegs. This contributes to children strengthening the muscles in their fingers. Children learn to persevere and receive praise from staff when they complete these, helping to raise their self-esteem. Children complete puzzles which encourage them to think critically and work out solutions. When they complete puzzles correctly, staff clap their hands to recognise children's achievements as children say, 'I did it!'.

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

• Prior to children moving on to school, staff share information with school teachers about children's learning and development to help them get to know children's abilities. Staff take children to use the host school facilities, helping them to become familiar with the environment.
• Staff encourage children to complete tasks themselves and to be helpful. For instance, staff ask children to tidy away toys and to use cloths to wipe table tops before snack times. Children are keen to help and show that they like the responsibility that staff give them.
• Overall, staff support children's communication and language skills well. They help children to learn new words as they play alongside them, such as 'repelling' and 'attracting', when children play with magnets. However, when children take part in group-time activities, staff do not always support less confident children to join in and answer questions to help develop their thinking skills and confidence in speaking.
• Staff effectively use additional funding that some children receive to meet their individual needs. For example, toy phones are purchased to help encourage children's communication skills during their self-chosen play.
• Staff offer children gradual settling-in sessions when they first start. These help children to settle and get to know the staff and their new environment. Parents appreciate staff arranging these for their children and say how it helped their children to feel settled.
• Information about children's learning is shared with parents to help keep them informed about their children's development. For example, staff share photos with parents of their children engaged in activities. They support parents to build on children's learning at home. For example, staff encourage parents to read stories to their children to help them develop a love of books and support their communication and language skills.
• Children are keen to join activities staff plan for them. However, staff do not carefully plan a curriculum that challenges children to develop their large muscles. For example, when staff provide children with activities to develop the strength in their bodies, children do these easily, such as walking across planks of wood and climbing steps to slides. Therefore, children are not always able to build on their current abilities.
• Staff are good role models for children. This helps children to see and copy positive behaviour. Staff plan activities to help children learn how to play cooperatively and be kind to their peers. Children show that they understand what they are learning as they explain to staff that it would be kind to help other children put on their socks and shoes.
• Staff plan activities to help children build on their understanding of numbers and counting. For instance, staff ask children to identify written numbers. They encourage children to count the number of children in a group and model how to count beyond 10.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to support less confident children to answer the good range of questions they ask all children, particularly during planned group times
• develop the curriculum to support children to develop their large-muscle movements and challenge their physical development.