Larksfoot

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children delight in all aspects of their play in this positive and nurturing setting. They happily wave goodbye to their parents and excitedly access the resources in the environment. They have built loving bonds with the staff and proudly smile as staff praise them for their achievements. Children are happy and feel safe.

Children spend a large proportion of their day outside. They access a range of stimulating and challenging resources that spark their curiosity and sense of awe and wonder. Children experiment by placing long tubes at different angles. They work out how to get balls to travel all the way through. Staff encourage children to make links in their learning through comparing the different experiences that they are exposed to. As children cut into butter, they recall previously cutting pieces of wood to make a fire. They compare the textures, saying, 'The butter is softer and it is melting in the sun.' Children are keen to apply the knowledge that they have been taught previously. They carefully watch the bees on the flowers and explain to visitors how the bees show each other which way to go. Children are developing their understanding of the world around them.

Children are independent and interact positively with each other. They focus for long periods during self-initiated play and negotiate with their friends. Children independently share resources and take turns with minimal support from staff. On the rare occasions when children do require support to resolve minor conflicts, staff calmly help them. Children are taught that it is important to look after yourself, each other and the environment. Staff and children frequently refer to these rules throughout the day. Children behave well and treat each other with respect.

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

• Children's language and communication skills are given high priority by all staff. Leaders engage with specialist professionals to ensure that children's speech development needs are identified early and support is put in place. Staff engage in meaningful conversations with children and model a range of high-level vocabulary. Staff use resources in the environment to encourage children to speak. For example, staff put their ear to the end of a pipe as children speak to them through it. All children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are making good progress in their language and communication.
• Children's physical development is extremely well supported. Children have many opportunities to build on their physical skills and strength. They lift themselves up to swing, confidently climb trees and use a wheelbarrow to move rocks and logs. Children develop the small muscles in their hands as they use a fork to strip the elderflowers off a branch to make an elderflower cake. They use hammers to remove the pigment from flowers to make prints on material. Children's progress in physical development is promoted well.
• Staff evoke children's excitement and interest in books. Children listen intently as staff read aloud to them. They enjoy finding out new information from books. As they explore toy insects, they locate them in the book, saying, 'There it is, a stag beetle.' Children choose to sit under a tree, sharing stories with their friends. Children are making good progress in their early literacy skills.
• Leaders have designed an ambitious and broad curriculum that prepares children well for the next stage of their education. Overall, children make good progress in their learning, and remember what they have been taught. However, staff are not always confident to use their interactions with children to address misconceptions. They do not consistently build on children's knowledge and skills, so that children make the highest levels of progress in all areas of the curriculum.
• Staff provide parents with detailed feedback about their child. This includes information about children's progress and ideas for extending their learning at home. Parents feel that staff know their children well and are attentive to their needs. They say that their children have grown in confidence and are proud to share at home what they have learned in the setting. Partnership with parents is effective in supporting continuity of care and education.
• Leaders are passionate about teaching children how to make healthy lifestyle choices. Staff talk to parents about healthy eating practices, which supports them in providing nutritious foods for their children to eat at lunchtime. Children spend most of their day being physically active in the fresh air outside. They are beginning to understand what it means to be healthy.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to use their interactions with children to promote the highest levels of progress in all aspects of their learning.