Our Lady & St Huberts Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily and settle quickly into this welcoming and homely environment. They feel a strong sense of belonging as their photos, family pictures and personal interests are displayed throughout the rooms. Staff greet children warmly and take time to help them feel safe and secure. Children build trusting relationships with the staff and are confident to explore the well-organised areas of learning. They enjoy routines such as 'wake and shake,' where they join in enthusiastically with songs and actions. Staff encourage children to name their feelings using resources such as the colour monster, which helps them to talk about their emotions.

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. Children are kind to one another, take turns and listen carefully to instructions. Staff support them gently when disputes occur, modelling calm responses and helping children to regulate their reactions. Children with additional needs are supported well through individualised strategies, such as visual timetables, communication boards and small steps assessment. This helps them to make steady progress from their starting points. Staff work closely with parents and external professionals to ensure the right support is in place.

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

• Children's personal development is prioritised. Staff are highly skilled in helping children to settle and build secure attachments. Children feel safe and develop confidence to try new activities. Parents appreciate the thorough settling-in process, which supports both children and families when they first join. Even children who are still in their initial settling sessions quickly learn to follow the routine with confidence.
• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is strong. Staff use targeted strategies, such as 'now and next' boards and communication aids, to help children access learning successfully. External professionals are involved where needed, and staff implement advice consistently. This ensures children make good progress and are fully included in daily routines.
• Teaching is ambitious. Staff seize opportunities to extend children's thinking and language. For example, when exploring body parts, children name the heart and the brain. Staff skilfully build on this by asking where these organs are located and encourage children to plot them on a body map. This extends children's technical vocabulary, deepens their curiosity and ensures learning is meaningful.
• Children enjoy a wide range of exciting activities, but the pace of learning sometimes slows, particularly for those attending part-time. Teaching is ambitious and often sparks curiosity, yet the next steps planned for some children are not consistently challenging. As a result, targets do not always match the ambition seen in teaching, and some children do not make as much progress as they could.
• The curriculum supports independence well. Children learn to manage self-care routines, such as handwashing and pouring drinks. They change their shoes for indoor and outdoor play and take responsibility for managing their own packed lunches at mealtimes. Staff encourage children to use slippers, pegs and personal items to develop responsibility and a strong sense of belonging.
• Staff provide a rich range of experiences. Children celebrate different festivals and learn about families and cultures beyond their own. However, representation of diversity and disability in daily practice is sometimes limited. For example, while books and resources are available, these are not consistently woven into teaching. This means opportunities are missed to fully prepare children for life in modern Britain.
• Partnerships with parents are successful. Staff share information through the online system and daily conversations. Parents contribute to their child's learning targets and provide details about interests from home. Staff value this input and use it to plan engaging activities that reflect children's lives.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to plan more precisely for children's next steps in learning to specifically target skills they want children to learn next
• provide children with even more experiences to strengthen their understanding of diversity and prepare them better for life in modern Britain.