Levendale Under Fives Group

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and emotionally secure in this nurturing and very inclusive setting. They settle quickly and show how happy and safe they feel. Children have warm and trusting relationships with staff, who are kind and caring. They build strong bonds with the staff who care for them. The curriculum builds on what children know and can do. Staff create a sequenced curriculum that incorporates children's evolving interests. They know the children they care for well.

Children behave well. They follow daily routines and happily help to tidy away their toys. Children learn to share resources with their friends. They are highly motivated to learn and staff are good role models to children. They join in with their play. For example, children pretend to be the three bears from a well-known story. They delightedly exclaim that their porridge is 'too cold'. Staff use this to help them recall the story. Children become engrossed in their play.

Managers and staff have high expectations for children. They swiftly identify children who need additional support and those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) through their regular assessments. Staff work in partnership with parents and other professionals to ensure that a suitable curriculum is put in place. All children make progress.

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

• Staff promote children's love of books. They enthusiastically respond to children's requests to share and read stories. Staff use good intonation, and children are very motivated and engaged as they become engrossed in the story. For example, they excitedly exclaim that they are on a broom as they clamber onto a 'log' cushion in readiness to read the story 'Room on the Broom'.
• Staff arrange inviting activities, and children stay engaged in their play for long periods. Toddlers enjoy the sensory feel of shaving foam in messy play. They make marks in the foam. Older children are starting to form some recognisable letters and numbers while also playing in the foam. These opportunities to explore literacy help children to be ready for school.
• Staff use children's interests to teach them about mathematical concepts. For example, children have recently shown a keen interest in the life cycle of a frog. Children learn about size and positional language as staff ask children to place the 'big' frog on the 'big' log.
• Staff have strong partnerships with parents. Although parents no longer enter the premises as they did before the COVID-19 pandemic, they confirm that staff share good information. Staff and parents work together successfully, supporting children's care and development. Parents explain that they are very pleased with the progress that their children make. They describe how 'staff go above and beyond to support their children's learning.'
• The indoor learning environment is a welcoming space to learn in. Staff provide children with opportunities to develop their muscles. Children jump and run, following staff's instructions during a game. However, despite accessing this good indoor environment, staff do not provide children who prefer to learn outdoors with access to a quality outdoor provision all year round, to further support their learning.
• Staff encourage children to brush their teeth after snack time. They talk to children about making sure that their teeth are clean and the importance of brushing then. This introduces good habits for oral hygiene. Staff use this opportunity to demonstrate how long two minutes is and add a sand timer. This furthers children's understanding of time and measure.
• Staff comment that they feel well supported by the management team. They keep all mandatory training up to date, such as child protection. However, managers do not sharply focus professional development to help staff to raise their practice to the highest possible level.
• Managers lead a strong team, who share their ambition to provide a high-quality provision. They work together to meet children's individual care and learning needs. For example, staff enable children to manage their feelings and consider others, such as by using a 'Happy Flower'. This encourages children to reflect on their emotions, meaning that they can identify how they are feeling.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the outdoor learning environment so that children who prefer to learn outside can make the most of the learning opportunities on offer all year round
• build on the programme of professional development for staff in order to enhance their practice to an even higher level.