Peapods Early Learning Centre Ltd (Hillingdon)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff are friendly and welcome children warmly on arrival. They provide a nurturing and caring approach that helps children to separate quickly from their parents and carers. This supports children to feel safe, happy and settled. Staff engage well with children and place them at the centre of everything they do. Children demonstrate good behaviour, self-care and social skills. They are confident, independent and motivated to learn. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. As a result, all children receive good opportunities to achieve well.

The dedicated and passionate leaders, along with their staff team, have created an interesting and inviting learning environment. They plan a broad curriculum with high expectations for all children's learning, which builds successfully on what children know and can do. Babies delight in exploring many sensory experiences, such as the textures of spaghetti, pasta and small animal figures. Staff support babies' emerging language by skilfully modelling vocabulary and describing words, such as 'hard' and 'prickly'.

Staff encourage toddlers to explore different textures and to be inquisitive as they play with water, mud and sand. Pre-school children become deeply engaged in making pretend pies in the mud kitchen. They delight in mixing water from jugs, adding different ingredients from the garden into their bowls and observing the changes that occur. As children play, staff model thinking skills and encourage children to make predictions.

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

• Partnerships with parents are strong. They say the nursery provides the 'right care' for their children. Parents comment that their children love attending and make good progress. They report that staff are kind, considerate and approachable. Parents appreciate the help they receive with their children's learning and development. For example, parents borrow learning bags containing books and activities to support their children's learning at home.
• Children gain independence as they progress through the nursery. Toddlers feed themselves and show competence in managing their own self-care. As older children arrive, staff encourage them to take off their coats and hang up their bags. Children cut fruit, prepare their own snacks and pour drinks.
• Staff demonstrate a good knowledge of children's progress and next steps in learning. They understand the needs of children who may need some extra support. When additional funding is in place for individual children, staff use this effectively to meet children's needs.
• Children develop good physical skills. They benefit from fresh air and a wealth of outdoor experiences all year round that enhance their learning, exploration and curiosity. Older children share, take turns and confidently pedal tricycles in the outdoor area. Younger children build confidence as they navigate climbing frames and obstacles and balance on equipment. Staff plan experiences to provide children with opportunities to explore the natural world, develop their communication skills and take risks within a safe environment.
• Staff are skilled storytellers who bring stories to life as they read to children. They capture children's interest and build on their growing vocabulary and comprehension. As a result, children remain focused and engaged. Staff value children's opinions, involving them in discussions and encouraging them to comment on the stories. This helps children to develop a love of books.
• Staff support and understand children's cultures and beliefs. They demonstrate respect for children's backgrounds and ensure that their family traditions are upheld. Staff teach children about a range of celebrations. For example, children recently learned about Eid, Vaisakhi and Easter. They made and decorated cards to take home and share with their parents. This fosters a sense of pride in children's own religious beliefs.
• Staff provide resources to help children to engage in mark making and develop their fine motor skills. This supports children with their pre-literacy skills. However, staff do not yet fully widen children's early mathematical development. For instance, they do not consistently weave mathematical language or concepts into children's play and experiences to build on what they already know.
• Leaders implement a programme of supervision and training to help develop staff's practice and knowledge. Staff comment that they are happy and that their well-being is well supported. However, leaders do not extend and embed the current strategies to help staff to further develop their teaching skills and practice to a consistently high level across the team.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• widen children's mathematical understanding further, such as by incorporating more mathematical vocabulary and concepts into everyday routines and activities
• embed the current systems for monitoring and coaching staff, to further extend their practice and to provide feedback to support staff to deliver the curriculum even more effectively.