New River Green Childrens Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The support for children and their families is exceptional. Staff have a deep understanding of the children they care for. This helps them tailor the curriculum to meet their individual needs. Children are supremely confident, independent and very well behaved. They arrive excited to start their day and separate easily from their parents. Once inside, they quickly become absorbed in one of the rich learning opportunities on offer. All children are extremely motivated to learn. They show high levels of concentration and persevere when activities are challenging for them. Staff have very high expectations. Every child makes excellent progress, including children who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Staff plan a very cohesive curriculum, based on children's individual interests, age and stage of development. Themes are carefully considered, ensuring that learning in each and every area of the early years curriculum is fully supported. For example, the 'bear hunt' theme provides an opportunity for babies to explore different textures, as they crawl and walk over an array of textured tiles. Older children learn about positional language, as they draw their own maps of the story and go on a 'real' bear hunt in the garden.

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

• Managers and staff are dedicated to the children and families who attend. They work closely with family services staff, who are based at the centre, to provide targeted support packages for vulnerable families. This ensures that all children have the best start in life.
• Managers provide inspirational leadership. They work tirelessly to improve the provision. All staff are competent practitioners. They are able to self-evaluate their own teaching practice and welcome opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills. They feel their personal and professional needs are fully supported by their managers.
• Staff completely understand that happy and content children learn best. They fully support children's emotional well-being. For example, young children who arrive unsettled by the transition from home are comforted by key persons. They cuddle them and look at their profile books with them. They talk about 'how much they have grown' and all the things the children can do now that they couldn't do before. As a result, children quickly feel emotionally secure and safe.
• All children, including those who are bilingual and/or speak English as an additional language, are becoming extremely confident speakers. Staff skilfully engage children in meaningful conversations and provide a commentary during activities, constantly exposing children to spoken English. They ask open-ended questions and always provide enough time for children to think about their answers. Makaton is used to support their understanding.
• Support for children with SEND is exceptional. All staff understand these children's specific needs. They set appropriate development targets with parents and other professionals involved in their care. This ensures that they focus on the areas that children need to improve.
• Children's concentration skills are excellent. They persevere for extended periods of time when playing and listen intently during carpet sessions. Staff observe children's play and skilfully intervene, supporting and extending their learning.
• Children develop impressive personal and social skills for their age. They are kind to their friends, and older children show real consideration for younger ones. Visual timetables are used across the centre to support children's understanding of routines and prepare them for transitions. Behaviour is consistently outstanding.
• Outside learning is highly valued. The garden is full of exciting learning experiences. Children find out about the natural world through forest-school activities. They observe plants, insects, birds and frogspawn in the pond area and build a 'frog home', while they wait for the tadpoles to develop. They help clear a pathway, so they can easily access the pond in the coming months.
• Parents have nothing but good things to say about the centre and its staff. They appreciate the kindness and compassion their children receive. They highlight how much progress their children make and feel fully informed about their children's learning and development needs. They know that whenever they need advice and/or support, staff will be available to provide it.