S4YC Out of School Club & Preschool - Sutton Green

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff create a welcoming and friendly environment. Children are happy and settled here. They have formed positive relationships with staff and their peers. Children seek out their key person to tell them about what they have been doing at home. They demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. Staff have high expectations of children. They teach children to use good manners and to share resources.

Staff plan activities using children's interests. They are thrilled to explore their environment when they enter the pre-school in the morning. Children excitedly talk about the time that the Beluga aeroplane will be passing over the school. They are motivated to learn as they discover the new resources that staff have added to the play dough box. Children show good levels of concentration as they roll, squash and squeeze their play dough to make a cake. Children are immersed in learning as they make marks on paper. They solve problems as they find a way to fit their letters into the envelopes. Children have opportunities to plant flowers in the outdoor area. They also learn how to look after the adjoining school's chickens. These opportunities help children learn more about the wider world. Children make good progress in their learning and development.

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

• The manager creates a broad and balanced curriculum. It builds on what children already know and can do. Staff know the children well and plan appropriate next steps in their learning. However, staff do not regularly share information about children's learning and development with parents, including how they can extend their children's learning at home.
• Staff plan opportunities to support children's growing independence. Younger children put their own coats on. They serve their own fruit onto their plates at snack time. Children carry their plates and cups to the sink when they have finished. Older children wash their hands independently and cut up their own food using cutlery at lunch time. These opportunities help children to develop the kinds of attitudes they need to prepare them for their next stage in learning.
• Physical development is promoted well. Children ride around the outdoor area on scooters and trikes. Older children use wheelbarrows to transport resources from one area to another. These opportunities help to strengthen children's large-muscle movements. Children use paintbrushes to create mud paintings outside. They make marks with a range of resources. This helps to prepare children's small-muscle movements in readiness for early writing.
• All children make good progress, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, children who speak English as an additional language and children who are in receipt of funded early education. The special educational needs coordinator knows how to make timely referrals to outside agencies, to help ensure that children receive the right support. Additional funding is carefully used to support children's individual needs and learning. All children are supported well when they move on to school.
• Managers evaluate the effectiveness of the pre-school. They incorporate the views of both children and parents into their evaluation. Managers carry out effective supervisions of staff which focus on raising the quality of teaching and learning. Staff feel well supported and describe how their well-being is looked after. Staff also access training which enhances their professional development. This helps them to provide good quality care and education for children.
• Staff teach children about other cultures. Children learn how celebrations in our country are both similar and different to those in other countries. Staff teach children about the dynamics of families that may be different to their own. This helps children develop an understanding of diversity.
• Staff introduce new vocabulary to children as they play. They encourage children to recognise the colours they can see in their environment. However, staff do not consistently use language to explain instructions clearly. In particular during whole-group-activities. This means that sometimes children do not understand what is expected of them.
• Staff know when children are tired, unwell or hungry and respond appropriately. They teach children about oral hygiene and how to keep their teeth healthy. Staff also teach children about foods that are good for them and why. This helps to promote their understanding of a healthy lifestyle.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide parents with more detailed information about their children's development and how they can support their learning at home
• improve the use of language to help provide clear instructions to children so they understand what is expected of them.