Little Saplings Childcare Centres - Yew Tree

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children gain a broad range of useful skills and knowledge that prepare them well for school. They gain confidence and develop good levels of concentration. Staff carefully consider each child's starting points. This includes knowing how COVID-19 (coronavirus) has changed the experiences children have and how to adapt their teaching accordingly. They plan learning experiences that help children to build on what they know and can do. Younger children learn how to play with others and begin to build friendships. Staff help them to develop their independence, such as going to the toilet and using cutlery to feed themselves. Older children extend their mathematical and literacy understanding. This includes reading and writing their names, and talking about shapes. Children play happily with their friends and learn how to manage their feelings and behaviour. They are creative and use their imaginations as they play. Younger children recreate familiar roles and experiences. They pretend they are builders, make a wall and know how to use tools, such as a hammer and saw. Older children use building blocks and talk about what they have made. They experiment as they paint and learn how to make new colours. Although parents do not enter the nursery because of COVID-19 risk assessments, staff make every effort to talk with them about their children.

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

• The manager effectively reviews the service they provide to identify areas for further development. She works with staff to make changes to how they organise the setting based on the needs of children. The manager regularly checks the quality of teaching and children's learning. She helps staff to extend their knowledge of how young children learn. Recent training has helped staff to think about the different ways that children like to play and learn, and how to plan for these.
• The manager and staff work closely with parents. Staff talk at length to parents about their children when they first start. This helps staff to gather detailed information about children's needs and interests. They regularly talk to parents to exchange information about children's achievements at home and in the nursery. Staff give parents useful ideas to support children's learning at home. The manager knows how COVID-19 has affected families of children who attend the nursery and has supported them well during this difficult time. Parents are grateful for the resources that the manager gave them to use with their children at home while the nursery was closed. The manager carefully considers the needs of each child, to ensure that funding is used to good effect.
• Teaching is good. Staff know about children's individual learning needs and use this information to plan well for them. Staff know how to break down the knowledge children need to have to learn and successfully support children at different stages of their development. They accurately monitor the progress that children make and identify any gaps in their learning. They work with other professionals to plan targeted learning experiences to help children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities to make good progress.
• Overall, staff support children's communication and language development well. Older children confidently join in with conversations, listen to what others say and offer their own ideas. Younger children join in with songs and rhymes and know how the actions link to words. They learn the meaning of words such as 'short' and 'long' to describe the difference between toy animal tails. However, staff do not recognise some occasions when the words they use do not offer two-year-old children the highest level of challenge.
• Staff have increased opportunities for children to be more physically active and to develop muscle strength. This is because they know that children have had less outdoor play experiences because of COVID-19. They give children equipment to use to help them to build their strength. Children enjoy using their leg muscles to travel on bouncing equipment. They carefully balance along a beam and jump off equipment. However, staff overlook some opportunities to help children to risk assess their play and challenge them to be more adventurous.
• Staff support children's health well and follow good hygiene routines. Children know how to help stop the spread of germs, such as through regular handwashing. Children know that exercise is good for them and talk about how they are sweaty after physical activity outdoors.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• identify ways to extend even further the language staff use with children in the two-year-old room
• increase opportunities for children to assess risks, to help them to engage in more adventurous play outdoors.