PATA @ Tiny Tots

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly greeted by the familiar and friendly staff team. They access a flexible curriculum, which staff carefully plan to meet their interests and individual learning needs. Children display positive attitudes to learning. They choose where they would like to play and quickly become absorbed in the opportunities available.

Older children practise their early literacy skills and display their creativity as they draw pictures. They proudly explain what they have drawn to attentive staff and refer to themselves as an artist, placing their pen behind their ear. Children are independent and display a sense of responsibility. They place their picture in their named tray to take home later that day. Children recognise their name and are beginning to become familiar with routines that will be followed when they move on to school.

Children benefit from meaningful interactions with staff to promote their communication and language skills. They display an understanding of positional language, such as 'in front' and 'behind' as they move a small figure to different places within a space rocket. Children are familiar with number language and accurately predict phrases, such as 'three, two, one, blast off'. They enthusiastically lift a rocket into the air.

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

• Staff work together to plan an exciting curriculum for children, which promotes an array of learning opportunities. They regularly review the indoor and outdoor learning environments to keep them fresh and exciting to inspire children's motivation to play. Although staff identify what they want children to learn from planned activities, there are times where they focus more on the resources to be used and do not always identify how they can to build on children's knowledge and skills in more meaningful ways.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children in receipt of additional funding, such as early years pupil premium, benefit from effective support to enrich their learning experiences. Staff invite external professionals, such as speech and language therapists, into the setting to offer support and guidance. This helps all children to make good progress.
• Any additional funding the setting receives is used effectively. The manager explains that they use the same phonics programme as the school and recently allocated some of their funding to strengthen staff knowledge and delivery of phonics in the setting. This helps children to receive a consistent approach to their learning when they move on to the next step in their educational journey.
• Children's well-being is given a high priority in the setting. Staff access a wide range of professional development opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills. Recently, they attended training to further their understanding and manage children's mental health. Staff teach children how to use breathing techniques when they become anxious or overwhelmed. This helps children to learn to regulate their feelings and supports their positive mindset.
• Staff support parents to continue and extend children's learning at home. For example, they recently sent home information to help parents sing or read nursery rhymes at home. Children demonstrate their love of songs and rhymes. They lead their own song time and sit with their friends, taking turns to sing familiar action songs and rhymes. This helps children to develop their communication and language skills, alongside their confidence and self-esteem.
• Staff seek information from parents about the language their children use at home. They ask parents to provide some key words in their home language, to support children's understanding in the setting. However, at times, these procedures are not fully effective. Staff are yet to provide children with enough opportunities to hear and use their home language in the setting to further support their learning and sense of self.
• The ambitious manager has high regard for all members of her staff team. She seeks their views when evaluating what they do well and what they could do better, and appropriately delegates responsibilities and roles to them. Staff feel valued and supported by the manager and wider leadership team. They state that they are happy in their roles and are dedicated to providing the best possible outcomes for children in their community.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to focus more precisely on the intentions for children's learning when planning activities to build on children's knowledge and skills in more meaningful ways
• gather more information from parents about children's language at home and provide further experiences for children to hear and use this in the setting to support their sense of self and enhance their learning.