Playmates Centre 56

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children demonstrate that they are happy, safe and clearly enjoy attending this inclusive setting. Children have secure and trusting bonds with the staff, who show an abundance of love and affection for the children that they care for. The dedicated and passionate staff know the children extremely well and have high expectations of them. They are kind, patient and nurturing in their approach. This means that children settle quickly, can engage in their chosen activities and have a positive attitude to learning. Children are confident and self-assured, knowing that their individual and unique needs are warmly celebrated.

Children benefit from meaningful experiences across all areas of learning. The curriculum is coherent, sequenced and reflects children's presumed interests and what they need to learn next. Regular observations and assessments of children's progress enable staff to plan activities that help children to flourish from their starting points. Children are developing their skills in communication and social interactions. They are learning how to use sign language, recognising that their friends may communicate in different ways. This means that all children have a voice and are able to express their needs and feelings.

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

• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is strong. Staff engage in training to ensure that they have the skills needed to support children effectively. Robust partnerships with health professionals and other external agencies ensure that children receive the additional support they need in a swift and timely manner.
• Support for children who speak English as an additional language is good. Staff gather key words from parents and use these alongside words in English to aid children's understanding. They use visual timetables, objects of reference and dual language books to help ensure that children can understand and communicate effectively.
• Staff manage children's behaviour well, overall. They are quick to intervene to ensure that children play safety in the environment. Staff are consistent in their approach, using calm voices and picture cards. However, staff do not always give children a clear explanation of why some behaviours are unwanted. For example, they simply say 'no' or 'don't do that', rather than elaborating to further children's understanding of right and wrong and the consequences of any unwanted behaviours.
• Children are learning the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. They recognise the need to follow good hygiene procedures and engage in daily, physical energetic play. Children benefit from healthy and nutritious meals and snacks. They understand the importance of dental health and brush their teeth daily as they talk about their molars and incisors.
• Children have plentiful opportunities to develop their independence. Staff encourage children to make independent choices about what they would like to play with. Children serve themselves at mealtimes and are supported to pour their own drinks. They show impressive self-care skills as they clean their own faces, placing their face cloths in the 'mucky bucket' when finished. Children are developing essential skills needed in readiness for school.
• Communication and language is a key focus of the nursery curriculum. Staff narrate as children play, which helps to give meaning to what children are doing and ensures that they hear a rich variety of vocabulary. Children discuss with staff what the word 'gloomy' means, during a story telling activity. However, occasionally, staff do not model the correct pronunciation of letter sounds and words, and children repeat what they hear incorrectly.
• Staff feel very well supported in their roles. They benefit from a cycle of supervision meetings and observations of their practice, where they are given precise feedback. This supports them to develop their practice further. Professional development opportunities are plentiful and have a positive impact on outcomes for children.
• Partnerships with parents are very successful. Staff carry out home visits for new children and gather pertinent information prior to a child transitioning into the setting. Parents attend workshops and are encouraged to take home 'learning bags'. They feel well informed about their child's learning and appreciate the support staff give them and their children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to recognise the importance of explaining unwanted behaviour to children so that they are able to develop an awareness of the consequences of their actions
• support staff to strengthen their understanding of how to skilfully support children's emerging communication and language skills further.