Slade Creche

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are greeted with a warm welcome by staff and the manager. Staff gently reassure children who are a little upset as they enter the creche, which helps children to settle quickly. The key-person system supports children effectively to bond with staff. This helps children to feel emotionally secure.

Staff support children's learning and development well. The curriculum provides challenges and engages children's interests. Children concentrate well as they become involved in the activities on offer. They show positive attitudes to learning. All children make good progress in their learning and gain important skills for the future, in readiness for starting nursery school.

Children are calm and behave well. They know the creche routine well and show an understanding of the behavioural expectations. Staff are well deployed and provide children with gentle reminders throughout the day when needed. Children listen and respond positively to simple instructions from staff. Young children enjoy exploring the range of resources on offer. For example, they curiously work out how to use the paintbrush and water to make marks. Children enjoy playing with sensory materials. They fill containers, pour them out and start all over again. This helps to support children's ability to think, explore and strengthen their fine motor skills.

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

• Staff recognise the importance of helping children to learn about their feelings. They provide clear strategies, resources and activities that support children to understand and manage their emotions. For example, staff provide gentle guidance as children play. They read books to help children understand and support them to talk about their feelings. Children's behaviour is good.
• Staff know the varying needs of children well. They understand what they can do and what they need to learn. Staff carefully design the curriculum according to children's individual interests and needs. For example, they provide lots of sensory materials and activities, both inside and outside, to soothe and relax the children. This helps to support the children to be curious, and it develops their concentration.
• Children are supported to develop their independence. For example, those who are potty trained competently attend to their personal needs. They know to wash their hands, and staff support children who are newer to the experience. Children know to sit at the table at snack time. They help themselves to chopped fruits, with staff guidance, picking these up with a spoon and transferring them to their plate with good skill. Children wait calmly and patiently for their turn as the plate goes around.
• Staff provide lots of opportunities to support children's health. Children are physically active as they explore the environment. They have plenty of space outside to move about with ease as they climb, ride on bikes and push dolls in prams. Children also enjoy going for walks in the local community and plant fruit and vegetables in the garden. This supports children's well-being and physical development well.
• Staff interact very well with children. They offer lots of praise and ask questions to encourage children to think about what they are learning. However, staff need to focus more on children who are quieter, such as those who tend to play alone and find it more difficult to interact with their peers, to enhance their confidence and social skills.
• Management has implemented an effective programme of evaluation and reflection to help to identify the setting's strengths and what needs to be improved. For example, management has identified gaps in supporting children's communication and language. As such, managers have successfully accessed support to help children while they wait for intervention from other professionals. Partnerships with local partners and other professionals are very strong.
• The manager provides supervision and appraisal meetings for all staff. Staff report how valued and supported they feel. They work well together as part of a caring team, and they are enthusiastic and motivated, which creates a happy environment for children.
• Parents are incredibly happy with the care and support provided by the staff team. They are particularly grateful for the warm and unwavering support for them and their children. Parents feel they can approach any staff and ask for help, knowing they will not be judged. This supports children to make good progress in their learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus more on supporting children who are quieter, to encourage their confidence and social skills and to enhance their personal, social and emotional development further.