Play Days Academy

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children help staff to carry out risk assessments in the garden. They identify potential risks, passing pieces of paper to staff when they find these on the ground. This helps children to take responsibility for maintaining a safe environment to play in. Children receive praise from staff for their achievements, helping to raise their self-esteem. For instance, staff give children in the toddler room a 'high five' when they remember familiar stories. Children who speak English as an additional language are supported with their language development and understanding. For example, staff use key words in their home language, and images that support children to follow daily routines. Children watch as staff use gestures to support their understanding of what is being said. This includes staff giving children a thumbs up to praise them for sharing play dough with their peers.

Children have opportunities to develop a love of books. In the baby room, when staff read to children, they let them turn the pages of the book, helping to maintain children's interest. In the toddler room, children are asked to remember familiar characters in stories and to talk about what they are wearing, such as a gingerbread character wearing buttons. Pre-school children use soft toys and act out favourite stories in their play. They remember and say key phrases from stories.

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

• The management team and staff have made improvements to children's experiences since the last inspection. This includes embedding systems to support children's behaviour. For example, staff talk to older children about the rules and boundaries. Children remember that they need to use quiet and calm voices inside and can use loud voices outside. This shows that they understand what is expected of them.
• The management team and staff implement a curriculum that helps children to progress in their learning. This includes supporting their communication and language skills. For example, in the baby room, when staff sing a nursery rhyme about a spider, they show children a puppet spider, helping to support their understanding of the rhyme. Staff in the pre-school room hold back-and-forth conversations with children to encourage their thinking skills.
• Staff share information with parents about their children's achievements and care routines. This helps to keep them informed about their child's day. Staff support parents to continue children's learning at home. For example, parents take home activity bags to do with their children.
• Staff are supported with their practice and well-being. They attend supervision meetings to help them reflect on their interactions with children. Professional development opportunities help staff to build on their knowledge of how to support pre-school children to develop their literacy skills. This includes asking children to throw a dice and follow instructions to sing the rhyming song that is shown on the dice.
• Children are keen to join group times that staff plan for them. For example, they learn how they can be kind to new children in the room. Children say that they can show them where to tidy the toys away. However, occasionally during these times, staff do not support all older children to join in discussions to help build on their confidence and learning.
• Staff use electronic devices to show children images of how to brush their teeth thoroughly when they give them their own toothbrush and paste. This contributes to promoting oral health. Staff supervise children when they watch the images, helping to promote their safety. However, staff do not help children to understand what to do, and how, when they encounter potential hazards when they use the internet at home.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. Staff invite other professionals to observe children in the nursery. Staff work with them to identify and implement targets to help children progress. Additional resources are purchased to support children's individual needs. For example, if the noise level in the playroom becomes overwhelming for children, they have ear defenders to wear.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to encourage all older children to join in during group times, to help build on their confidence and learning
• help staff to support older children to learn about what to do, and how, if they encounter potential hazards when they use the internet at home.