Longwood Daycare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children develop good relationships with staff and demonstrate that they feel safe and secure in their care. Children are happy and engaged in their learning. Older children demonstrate high levels of confidence and independence as they explore the wide range of resources accessible to them. Children develop perseverance as they play. For example, when putting a jigsaw together, children turn pieces around until they fit and then search intently for further pieces that match the picture. Staff support children to develop good communication and language skills. For example, staff ask them questions about their play and children respond appropriately. Babies smile and interact confidently with visitors and babble as staff sing familiar songs and rhymes.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents no longer enter the setting when dropping off or collecting their child. The manager provides termly progress reports, which they share over phone calls to parents and then email the report to share children's learning and development.

Staff are good role models and encourage children to use good manners and be kind to one another. Children cooperate well together. For example, when constructing, children work together to attach nuts and bolts to create a car.

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

• The manager supervises and supports the staff well, so that they continually improve their knowledge and skills. For example, staff attended training recently and have used this to write support plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• The manager and staff provide good support for children who need extra help. They are proactive in seeking help from other professionals to ensure all children achieve their full potential. Also, they use additional funding successfully to meet the developmental needs of individual children.
• Staff place a strong emphasis on supporting and developing children's language. Staff gently repeat and pronounce words correctly, as children show emerging language, and introduce new vocabulary to children. They provide commentary as they play and engage in conversations with children. Staff and children sing songs together and use their hands to perform actions. Children learn skills to prepare them for their next stage in learning and their eventual move to school.
• Parents speak very highly of the setting and say they have good relationships with staff. Staff gather information about children's abilities when they start and regularly review children's progress and next steps to benefit children's learning. Parents appreciate the good communication they have with staff about their children's progress.
• The manager and staff provide a curriculum that follows children's interests and they provide a combination of child- and adult-led activities. Staff make accurate assessments of children's ongoing progress. Staff encourage children to concentrate as they play, developing their imaginations and creativity well. However, at times, staff miss opportunities to support children to solve problems and extend their learning even further.
• Partnerships with other settings and schools are good. Staff share children's progress and local schools visit the setting before children move on to school. When children attend two settings, a communication book is used to share what they have learned and their next steps. This helps to provide continuity in children learning.
• Staff encourage children to be independent. For example, children put on their own coats, gloves and hats before going outside. Staff encourage them to try to fasten their coats independently. Children can wash and dry their own hands and pour drinks at snack time. This helps to improve children's self-confidence and self-esteem.
• Babies are provided with a safe environment and are supported and encouraged in their play. Staff praise them frequently. For example, when children attempt to pick up a small ball, children smile as staff clap their hands. However, staff have not fully considered how they can support babies' and very young children's physical skills to an even higher level.
• The manager is self-reflective in the ongoing evaluation of the setting and can identify areas of strength and areas to improve. The manager is supported by the local authority early years area coordinator, who completes audits to provide the setting with positive feedback and to help to identify how the setting can improve further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• plan more effectively to develop babies' and very young children's physical skills to a higher level
• extend children's learning even further by encouraging them to problem solve.