Little Elms Daycare Sydenham

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders assess and evaluate the provision to identify what it is children need and how to best support them in their learning. They create an inclusive environment and build positive and open relationships with parents. The manager effectively monitors children's progress and works with staff to identify children who need extra support. Staff work together with other professionals involved and parents to develop personalised support, particularly for those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those known, or previously known, to social care.

Parents talk about the support they receive, especially to help remove any barriers their children might face in their learning. This has a positive impact on the children as they thrive and make sufficient progress in their learning and development.

Leaders have a secure understanding of child development and the vulnerabilities that families living in the local area face. They use any additional funding children receive to enhance their learning experiences further. This includes trips to the local community, including parks, to help children experience a variety of outdoor learning. This helps to build children's confidence to explore new environments, extend their knowledge about the community they live in and to develop their physical skills.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have a secure understanding about child development and how children learn. They support staff to create a curriculum that builds effectively on what children already know and can do. When planning, staff consider the needs and stages of learning of children to ensure activities help children to make continuous progress in their development. However, not all staff are yet confident in implementing the curriculum. For example, when children use the available water play, their communication, including mathematical language, is not being strengthened and extended as expected by the leaders.

Generally, children's communication and language are supported well overall. For example, babies enjoy singing nursery rhymes and exploring books. Older children hear staff role-modelling language during play and asking them questions to extend their learning.

Although leaders have started to support their staff team, the youngest children are not consistently benefiting from high quality interactions. For example, although babies are happy exploring their new learning environment and crawling over and under the soft shapes in the garden, staff's interactions with them are limited and do not fully extend their learning. Nevertheless, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make steady progress in their development.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children develop their self-esteem and become curious explorers. They are provided with activities and experiences to help support them to develop age-appropriate skills across all areas of the curriculum. Children learn about the environment, the food they can grow, the minibeasts in the soil and local parks. This supports their understanding of the world around them and healthy lifestyles.

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities who have tailored support, make positive progress from their starting points. Children are generally well supported to reach their developmental milestones successfully and are suitably prepared for their next learning stage effectively. Babies learn how to adapt to new environments and people in a safe way.

Children develop a positive attitude towards learning, using their curiosity to explore what is available to them. They are eager to use the resources available to explore the living creatures in the soil, developing their physical skills and learning how to use an identification chart to find out what they see.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Children show positive attachments to staff and seek them out if they need support or reassurance. Regular communication with parents ensures that staff meet children's changing needs and adapt their approach as needed, supporting children's emotional wellbeing further.

Overall, children learn and understand what is expected of them. They learn how to share resources and take turns during their play. However, there are some inconsistencies in the staff's organisation of transitions in the daily routines. Consequently, at mealtimes, staff do not help children effectively enough to understand what is going to happen next.

Staff have high expectations for children and are positive role models, promoting how to engage respectfully. All children behave well. They are polite and follow instructions. Leaders recognise the challenges they have faced and ensure children and families remain at the heart of what they do. They have worked hard to establish a positive environment where children can learn in a safe and acceptable way to express themselves. They promote an inclusive and respectful environment where all families are welcome.

Leaders understand the importance of regular attendance in supporting children's progress and promote this effectively with families, helping children to benefit fully from the learning on offer. They offer slower mornings where children ease into the day at their own pace. This helps them to settle well when they arrive and supports their understanding of the routines of the setting successfully. It supports better attendance and helps prepare children for later learning, including attending school.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders and staff implement and follow effective procedures to support children's welfare and wellbeing, providing a safe environment and a place where children can feel happy and secure.

Children are successfully supported to develop self-care skills. For example, babies learn to feed themselves using a spoon, developing their confidence and coordination skills. Older children learn about oral health and have opportunities to practise their toothbrushing skills during activities. This supports children's independence and understanding of how to keep themselves healthy.

Relationships between staff and children are warm and responsive. The key-person system is effective in building secure relationships with children. Children show they feel safe and secure, confidently exploring their learning environment and seeking out staff when they need comfort or reassurance. Regular communication with parents helps staff to meet children's changing needs. As a result, staff have a secure knowledge of the children, including their likes and interests, any additional support they may need and dietary requirements.

Outdoor learning is effectively embedded in the curriculum. Staff provide children with opportunities to be outdoors and be physically active. For example, children use different tools to dig in the soil, using magnifying glasses to look at which creatures live there. Older children learn about the fruits and vegetables they can grow and eat. Children have access to activities and trips into the local community, which extends their development further.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders are committed and highly motivated. They review all aspects of the setting with rigour and demonstrate a clear willingness to implement improvements. Their ability to identify where practice needs to be strengthened has enabled them to address weaker areas effectively to promote children's sense of security. Although staff are still developing their understanding of how to embed the newly introduced curriculum, they benefit from purposeful support and guidance from leaders to enhance their practice.

Leaders follow safer recruitment procedures and ensure that new staff complete a thorough induction. They hold regular one-to-one supervision meetings, which support staff wellbeing and identify professional development needs. Staff enjoy their work and experience wellbeing support from leaders. This has a positive impact on how staff engage with children and their families.

Staff build positive and professional relationships with parents and share meaningful information about children's learning. Parents speak positively about the care their children receive and appreciate the support offered to their families. Communication provides parents with information about their child's day and progress.