School's Out at Langley

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive at this welcoming and inclusive setting. They form close bonds with staff who are gentle, caring and kind. Children are happy, settled and are growing in independence. They benefit from secure daily routines and consistent expectations, which help them feel relaxed and secure. Support for children's personal development is a strength of the setting. Staff support children to talk about their feelings and emotions. For example, they encourage children to place their hands on a 'worry handprint' to seek reassurance and wish their worries away. Children choose a soft toy each morning which represents how they feel that day. Staff revisit this with them in the afternoon to see if their feelings have changed.

Staff encourage children to carry out activities, including registering themselves into the setting. This helps children feel a sense of belonging. Children receive plenty of clear praise and encouragement. This helps boost their confidence and self-esteem. Staff are very good role models. They promote positive behaviour through regular, gentle reminders about the importance of listening and being kind to others. Older children help out by becoming 'behaviour monitors', who seek out positive behaviour. Children are encouraged to record and share compliments about their friends. They talk with staff about differences, tolerance and respect for others.

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

• This is an extremely well run and organised setting. Overall, the manager and staff are clear about what they want children to learn to prepare them for their future. Staff gather very detailed information about children before they start at the setting. They use this to plan experiences that they know will excite and motivate them.
• Staff act fully as partners in children's play, following their leads and interests. Overall, staff model and support children's learning well, but they occasionally miss opportunities to extend children's thinking further.
• Children enjoy detailed conversations with staff and hear lots of language as they sing songs and share stories. Staff put in place additional assessments for speech and language to help provide robust support for children.
• Staff introduce new words to help extend children's growing vocabulary. For example, they name the vegetables children chop as part of an activity. Staff describe to children the sounds they hear as they snap twigs with their feet and tiptoe through puddles, in the enclosed and spacious garden.
• Staff gather information about children's favourite books. They use this to plan displays and storytelling sessions that they know children will be familiar with and love.
• Children benefit from daily fresh air and exercise. Staff encourage children to stand rather than sit at activities, to help strengthen their core muscles. They talk to children about healthy eating and share information with parents about healthy packed lunches.
• Children learn about life outside the setting. Staff talk to children about where they live and help them to pinpoint their homes using maps on a computer. They ask children to bring back shells from holidays abroad so they can compare them to those found on their local beach.
• There is good support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff work well with health professionals to help provide a consistent approach to supporting children's development.
• Close and productive partnerships with the local school help create a smooth move to school for children. Staff meet regularly with school staff to discuss the progress of and plan support for children who attend both settings.
• Feedback from parents is very good. Parents say staff are approachable, warm and accommodating. They have very high praise for the manager and the work she does. Staff involve parents very well in their children's learning. For example, they run a home library scheme and 'stay and play' sessions.
• The experienced manager provides strong support to her staff team, including in relation to their well-being, through meetings, observations and constructive feedback. Staff keep their skills up to date and feedback key messages to their colleagues from training they complete.
• Staff reflect well on experiences for children and the manager gathers the views of parents. She feeds back to parents any improvements that are made from their suggestions. The manager and staff are passionate about providing positive outcomes for children in their care.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to identify and make the most of opportunities to extend children's learning, to enhance teaching to the highest level.