Pheasey Park Farm Children's Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and thrive in this caring and nurturing setting. They develop strong bonds with their key person and make positive relationships with their friends. When babies are hungry or tired, staff attend to their needs in a calm and loving manner. This promotes their feelings of security and gives a good base for learning. Children display curiosity as they explore activities. For example, when exploring jelly play, children pour the liquid between two measuring cylinders. They develop their imagination through opportunities to build and draw bridges while singing nursery rhymes.

Staff have high expectations for all children, and their needs and interests are a priority. Children are encouraged to follow routines and join in with group activities when they are ready to do so. Each child's key person creates unique individual planning for children to ensure that they make progress. These are shared with all staff so that children receive consistency in their care and education. Children behave well and have positive attitudes towards learning. They accept the needs of others and include everyone in their play. Children learn about living healthy lifestyles through discussions about healthy foods at snack time and have many opportunities to develop physically outdoors. Children make choices about where they would like to play by having open access to the indoor and outdoor environments. Children take part in sand play, using language of size and number. Staff engage in conversations that teach children new vocabulary to extend their learning.

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

• Managers and staff have developed a curriculum that supports individuality and children's imagination. Staff provide activities that indulge children in new learning. They then revisit this learning later in the term to ensure that it is embedded.
• The curriculum for babies is ambitious. Babies are provided with a range of resources that encourage physical movements. They have space to crawl and explore activities indoors and a range of ride-on toys to encourage balancing and coordination outdoors. Staff get down on the floor with children to explore toys and books and enhance their personal, social and emotional development.
• Children take part in activities that teach them new skills. For instance, they learn about special days, such as St Andrew's Day. Children explore patterns, colour and practise skills of weaving. They listen to traditional Scottish music and take part in dancing sessions. These experiences help to broaden children's knowledge and understanding of the world.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported by a caring team and receive additional support at appropriate times. This includes individual or group sessions in the dedicated sensory room. Children develop their listening and attention and extend their vocabulary in this purposeful environment.
• Children experience communication-rich mealtimes. They chat to their friends and staff members as they slice their fruit at snack time. Children explore a variety of tastes and textures and comment on their likes and dislikes. However, sometimes, children lack opportunities to be independent. Older children are not always provided with opportunities to pour their own drinks or use appropriate cutlery to eat their lunch.
• Transitions are well supported in this setting. Children receive settling-in sessions where staff find out what children know and can do through conversations with parents. As children move into new rooms, familiar staff members move with them. This supports on-going staff development and ensures that children receive continuity in their care which promotes their well-being.
• Managers have a strong ambition for the setting. Since the last inspection, they have worked particularly hard on developing partnerships with parents. Partnerships with parents are very strong. Parents speak highly of the staff team and the progress that their children make. They receive regular updates on their children's development and are provided with ideas to support them further at home.
• Managers identify training needs of staff through routine supervision and appraisals. Staff have taken part in training to enable them to assess children's communication and language skills. They use this information to improve outcomes for children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance opportunities for children to extend their independence at mealtimes.