Sandbrook Community Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children happily rush into the small and friendly setting. Staff provide a carefully considered environment, this helps to motivate children to make choices in their play. Staff are calm, reassuring and genuinely enthusiastic. Children enjoy being at the playgroup.

The curriculum is focused and ambitious for every child.The impact of the quality of education on children's literacy is evident. Children select books for staff to read to them and recall familiar stories from memory. Children's control to use small tools is developing well. Staff encourage two-year-old children to strengthen their finger muscles by using tongs and snipping paper with scissors. Older children carefully begin to form letters of their names as they make marks on paper. Children are supported to play cooperatively together. For instance, they learn to take turns and share with their friends.

Children benefit from additional experiences, such as music and movement sessions and trips to the local shops. Children engage well in their play. Younger children enjoy singing action songs and giggle when they splash in water play. Older children play imaginatively, 'hunting for treasure' during a sand activity. All 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 has a strong understanding of her responsibilities, including safeguarding and meeting children's individual needs. Additional funding is used suitably, such as to buy resources to help close any gaps in children's learning.
• Staff complete accurate assessments of children's development. They have a clear understanding of what they want children to learn next. Overall, children access a curriculum that fosters their interests and builds on what they already know and can do. However, staff do not always implement the curriculum with precision to consistently support the intent of some activities, especially for younger children.
• An effective key-person system is in place. Staff personalise the settling-in process for children who may struggle to ease into the playgroup. For example, they visit children at home and offer additional settling-in sessions to thoughtfully ease children into their new routines.
• Staff support children's communication and language well. They sing nursery rhymes with the children, ask questions and allow time for children to respond. They repeat words that children do not pronounce clearly so they can hear them correctly. Children are becoming confident communicators.
• The nursery's special educational needs coordinator (SENDCo) ensures that children have clearly devised individual support plans. She follows advice from external professionals closely. Staff generally use interventions well to interact with children. Nevertheless, not all staff employ effective strategies to support children's understanding of transitions when there are changes of routine. Therefore, not all children develop the understanding of which they are capable.
• Staff support children's health well. Children learn to develop healthy lifestyles. For instance, they enjoy healthy snacks and drinks, access fresh air daily and take part in physical activities, such as yoga.
• Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. They support children to develop the language needed to express their feelings. Children are familiar with 'The Colour Monster' story and are encouraged to use the colours to express how they are feeling. This helps to build children's emotional literacy.
• Staff feel valued and supported by the manager. They are supported to access training and to further develop their career through additional professional qualifications. Staff explained how happy they feel in their role.
• Working in partnership with parents is a strength in this setting. Parents are complimentary about the staff and how they are encouraged to support the playgroup. For example, families visit often and take part in activities, such as cooking and reading to the children. Parents are further supported with advice on children's toilet training, sleep routines and tooth brushing. Staff provide parents with regular updates on the progress their children are making and share ideas about how they can carry on with their child's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff's understanding of how to implement the learning intentions for activities, so they are clear on what skills and knowledge they want younger children to gain
• revisit coaching for staff regarding the use of support strategies, so all children develop their understanding of transitions in the routines.