Panda Play Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled at this caring and well-established community setting. Children leave their parents excitedly with a wave and a smile. They are happy to see their friends and settle well. There are effective settling-in procedures in place. Children talk confidently, and with enthusiasm about their family and new siblings that have recently been born.

Children are independent learners. They choose from the many resources on offer to extend their interests. For example, children enjoy wrapping bandages around toy animals as they talk about a recent trip to the vet's with a family pet. Children are confident communicators. They talk with the inspector about their adventures with 'Peter Panda', who they take home with them and who accompanies them on 'lots of adventures' with their families.

This setting truly embraces the local community. Children have many opportunities to visit the local shops, parks and farms. They are proud to take part in the community 'Charity Float' competition each year. Children learn about the world around them and people who help them. For example, they enjoy visits from local police officers, firefighters and nurses.

Children have plenty of opportunity to develop their physical skills, both indoors and outdoors. They enjoy balancing on beams, running, jumping and using a variety of soft-play equipment to support this. Children benefit from healthy and nutritious snacks daily.

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

• Overall, children benefit from a well-planned programme of activities that supports their development across all areas of learning. Children explore a well-resourced outdoor and indoor learning environment, which they thoroughly enjoy. However, the manager has not thought through how staff are deployed effectively in order to fully support children as they play and learn.
• Staff benefit from regular training opportunities, such as focusing on developing children's language, that support the quality of education. Staff support children's language and communication skills well. They skilfully communicate with children. They use questioning effectively to challenge children's thinking. For example, when children talk about having 'solar panels' on their house. Staff skilfully introduce new vocabulary and ideas that extend children's learning.
• Children's mathematical development is supported particularly well. Children are encouraged to explore mathematical ideas at every opportunity. For example, they count how many steps it takes to cross an activity mat, use tape measures and make predictions as to who is the 'tallest' and 'smallest'. Children count independently during play and make patterns using dough, cars and sticks.
• Staff have clear expectations of children's behaviour and help them to develop positive attitudes to learning. They use lots of praise and positive reinforcement to supports children's understanding. Children who struggle to manage their emotions are swiftly supported to re-engage. Children are kind and respectful to staff and each other. For example, older children support younger children to hang their coat on their peg.
• The manager and her staff team have a good overall understanding of how best to support children. Additional funding is used well to support children's learning and development. Staff work in partnership with a variety of multi-agency professionals to ensure that any support children require is put in place swiftly. However, some staff do not always have a full understanding of strategies in place to support children, which can lead to some minor inconsistencies in teaching.
• The leadership team recognises the importance of supporting mental health and well-being. The setting has a designated mental health first aider, who supports both children and staff. Staff have training planned to support their understanding of how to create calm and nurturing learning spaces. Children benefit from resources designed to reflect on their feelings. For example, children who struggle to regulate their emotions access a 'feelings basket' to support their understanding of this.
• Partnership with parents is good. Parents are happy with the communication strategies that the setting uses. They feel well informed of their children's learning and development. Parents are very complimentary about the support that they received during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that staff are deployed effectively, so that all children can benefit from support as they play and learn
• strengthen communication between staff to ensure an even more consistent approach to supporting children's learning.