Pixieland Stoke Village Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children feel safe and secure. They greet their key person with a warm hug and a big smile. Children settle quickly after they arrive and are eager to play. Staff are kind and know the children well.

There is an ambitious curriculum in place. All children make good progress in their physical development. Babies increase their core strength. They become confident in crawling and manoeuvring themselves around. For example, they climb up small ramps and shuffle down the other side. Toddlers improve their balancing skills by sitting on balance bicycles. They know to distribute their weight evenly to stay on and use their leg muscles to propel themselves forward. Pre-school-age children develop their hand-eye coordination skills. They practise throwing balls into a basketball hoop and bounce balls on the ground.

Parents are very happy with the regular communication they receive from staff about their children's development. Staff share ideas of how to support their children's learning at home. Parents comment positively on the key-person system. Staff inform them of who their child's key person is. They meet them in advance of their child moving rooms. Should their child form a closer attachment to another member of staff, they become their key person. Parents comment their children 'feel at home' in the setting.

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

• Children are independent. Younger babies choose a prop from a 'song bag' and share this with staff to sing a song. Older babies learn how to feed themselves using a spoon with support from staff. Toddlers know how to take their coats off and wipe their noses. Pre-school-age children hear the 'tidy up song' and begin to pack away toys. They dance and jump to the song and know where the resources go.
• Pre-school-age children show determination to solve problems. They attempt to wash shells down some guttering using buckets of water. Staff offer these children a challenge and add heavier items for them to wash down. Pre-school-age children learn about water pressure. They feel accomplished as they increase the amount of water and eventually wash them all away.
• Staff play with foam and toy cars alongside younger babies. They make noises and sounds as they play. Younger babies listen, copy and repeat these noises. Staff understand the importance of repeating sounds and noises back to younger babies to develop their language and communication. However, staff do not develop older babies' and toddlers' communication and language skills as effectively. For example, staff ask these children many questions in quick succession and do not give them enough time to answer. At other times, staff use long sentences that older babies and toddlers do not understand.
• Staff support toddlers to learn how to share. They remind them to use 'kind hands' and offer toddlers alternative toys to play with. Staff praise toddlers for making good choices. They comment on their positive behaviour and minimise conflicts effectively.
• Pre-school-age children love to sit and chat in small groups. Staff design the environment to include cosy nooks and inviting spaces for them to do this. However, staff do not always organise daily routines to support pre-school-age children's personal, social and emotional development and promote their well-being. For example, at lunchtime, staff sit all pre-school-age children together, and it is very noisy. Some of these children become overwhelmed and show lower levels of well-being.
• Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) effectively. They work in close partnership with external agencies and professionals to help children with SEND make progress. Staff use strategies to aid communication for children with SEND. For example, staff sing instructions to children. This soothes and helps them to re-engage and be ready for the next activity.
• Leaders support staff to access ongoing professional development. Staff attend regular training opportunities to improve their practice. For example, leaders support the special educational needs and disability coordinator (SENDCo) to attend training on SEND. Leaders work closely with staff to reduce the amount of paperwork used to plan learning experiences for children. Following this, staff spend more time with children to help them make progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop how staff support older babies' and toddlers' communication and language skills, to give them enough time to understand and answer questions
• organise daily routines to support pre-school-aged children's personal, social and emotional development and promote their well-being.