Pals Christ Church

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff create a welcoming and exciting environment for all children to learn and have lots of fun. They provide all children with a good start to their early education. Staff build positive relationships with children. They know their key children very well and know how they can build on what their key children already know and can do, overall, well to meet their individual needs. This helps all children to make good progress, including children who need extra help. Staff have high expectations for all children to help them to behave well and have positive attitudes to their learning. Children are consistently engaged and thoroughly enjoy the challenging and meaningful experiences that are planned by leaders and staff. For example, children keenly roll balls down guttering, make shapes from dough, water plants outdoors and create stories using visual picture cards. Children are very busy and keen learners.

The curriculum for physical development, exercise and good health is ambitious for all children. Leaders and staff plan frequent opportunities for children to participate in regular exercise. For example, children enthusiastically wiggle and jiggle to music and copy staff as they excitedly march, hop and jump. Staff enthusiastically encourage children to recognise the effect physical exercise has on their bodies. For example, staff say, 'Can you feel your heart beating fast?'

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

• Leaders are keen and enthusiastic to consistently provide good-quality, inclusive care and education for all children. Since registration, they have implemented many changes to the environment and strengthened the curriculum intent. In particular, to help all children to regulate their behaviour and to manage their feelings and emotions. Consequently, children behave very well.
• Leaders have an ambitious vision that is shared among staff and parents. They have effective systems in place for staff supervision and continuous professional development opportunities. Leaders have strong procedures for checking staff's ongoing suitability. This helps to ensure that all adults who have regular access to children are suitable.
• Leaders and staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) extremely well. They engage very effectively with parents and other professionals to ensure swift and targeted support for those children with SEND. This means that all children are well prepared for the next stages in their learning and eventual move on to school.
• All children benefit from staff's very good teaching skills as they confidently and skilfully implement the curriculum intent. For example, staff support children's imaginary play as they play in role as doctors. Children are intrigued as they look at x-ray pictures and pretend to give staff an injection with a large toy syringe.
• Staff's positive interactions help to develop children's curiosity and focus on their learning.
• Staff focus on supporting children's communication and language skills well. For example, they use gestures, consistently comment on children's play and use visual prompts. Staff read stories and sing nursery rhymes that children enjoy. Young children excitedly choose props and sing rhymes, such as twinkle, twinkle little star and humpty dumpty.
• Staff encourage children to eat healthily and make healthy choices, such as during snack time. Staff support children to chop up bananas and skilfully pick up slices of apple and cucumber with tongs to help strengthen small-muscles. Children successfully pour a drink of milk as staff encourage children's self-help skills.
• Staff promote children's independence well. Children learn to put on their hats and coats and keenly tidy away toys. Overall, staff help children to manage their personal care needs well. This is not quite as consistent during some routines, such as toilet visits, to further encourage children's learning.
• Occasionally, leaders do not find different ways to help children express themselves through their own interests. This slightly reduces opportunities to further develop children's awareness of diversity and what makes them unique.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen opportunities for children to learn how to manage their personal care needs
• strengthen the curriculum to help maximise children's experiences, particularly an understanding of community beyond their own, and to help children to consistently express themselves through their own interests.