Spring Milecross

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children make great progress in this inclusive and nurturing setting. They form strong relationships with staff and demonstrate feeling safe and secure in their care. Babies cuddle into staff and seek them out for comfort when needed and older children excitedly involve staff in their play. The well-planned environment supports the curriculum effectively and allows children to make independent choices from a good range of resources. For example, children skilfully use pincers to organise the different coloured balls into the matching bowl. They have ample opportunities to go outside and develop their fine and gross motor skills as they kick balls, build number towers and use writing resources.

Staff speak calmly and respectfully and try to encourage children to be helpful, use their manners and be kind to their peers. Overall, they support children's behaviour well. Staff place a high focus on supporting children to develop a love of literacy. They have created a 'reading room' where children do one-to-one and small group work with staff to read stories and develop their imagination skills. Children are becoming increasingly independent. They confidently wash their hands, cut their fruit and pour their own drinks at snack time. These skills support children to be ready for the next steps of their education for when they go to school.

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

• The management team have designed an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum that is planned around children's interests and builds on what they already know through careful assessments of their progress. Staff use this information to successfully implement early intervention strategies and targeted teaching. They can confidently discuss the needs of their key children and the next steps they are working on.
• All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and from disadvantaged backgrounds, make great progress from their starting points. The setting has effectively used additional funding. For instance, they have created a sensory room to have a calm and relaxing environment that support's children's individual needs. Staff work effectively with parents and external agencies to ensure the best outcomes for all children. Families of children with SEND feel extremely well supported by the setting.
• Children generally have good behaviour. They understand the needs of others and have developed close friendships with their peers. Staff ensure children are aware of behaviour expectations in the setting and use some effective methods to manage unwanted behaviour. However, although staff have put boundaries in place, this is not fully implemented in practice. For instance, staff do not always support children to quickly resolve conflicts or when they struggle to listen to instructions in group activities.
• Children benefit from a language-rich environment. Staff use speech and language screening tools to identify children who need additional support. They use simple sign language and are animated as they read books and sing songs with actions. They use visual aids to help children understand the setting's routine and these help children, including children who speak English as an additional language to be good communicators.
• Staff have built strong relationships with children and have an emphasis on learning through a child centred approach and plan around the children's interests. For example, children enjoy using a laptop with their peers to research different dinosaurs, learn their names and what they looked like. On occasion, staff do not make the best use of opportunities to encourage children to think further and deepen their knowledge to extend their learning.
• Parents speak highly of the setting. They discuss that they are very inclusive and have gone above and beyond their roles to support their children. Parents feel staff are approachable and have great communication. They keep them well informed about their children's learning and development and give them ideas on how to support their children at home.
• The management team are passionate about providing a safe, home-from-home environment where children from all backgrounds have the same opportunities to explore, learn and develop. They complete regular supervisions and peer-on-peer observations of staff to support their well-being and identify any training needs. Staff report that they well supported, valued and enjoy working at the setting.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's understanding of behaviour management strategies to support children's understanding of behaviour expectations and help them make positive choices
• seek further ways to help all staff enhance their teaching skills to support children to make the best possible progress.