St Mary's Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children show excitement as they arrive at the playgroup. They are quick to find their friends and talk about the journey to playgroup. Staff are welcoming and show care as they engage with children in their chosen play.

Staff are positive in their approach and are good role models. For example, they remind children about the rules in the playgroup during circle time. They sing their rules songs, and children join in with enthusiasm. This helps children to learn about how to be kind to each other and promotes their positive behaviour. As a result, children generally behave well.

Staff plan a wide range of activities within an ambitious curriculum. These are aimed at supporting children's learning through play. For example, staff set out the puppet theatre where children use their imagination to create their own games and conversations. Staff join the children and model language and conversation to help them build their communication and language skills.

Children enjoy a range of play to support their physical skills and muscle development. For example, children enjoy exploring apparatus where they can balance, slide and climb, helping them develop their gross motor skills and coordination.

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

• Leaders have developed a curriculum that builds on what children already know and can do. They review children's progress well and plan effectively for their next steps. They provide a wide variety of experiences to support children to secure and extend their knowledge and skills.
• Staff have the same ambition for all children. They engage with parents and other professionals well. This ensures that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive the support they need to make good progress.
• Staff model language to the children and use repetition to confirm and secure their skills. Staff introduce new vocabulary to provide challenge and extend children's language development. This helps them build their skills in communication and language through meaningful interactions with staff.
• Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They model behaviour and engage in positive interactions to promote and build meaningful relationships. Children learn to negotiate and work together to share resources. Staff help children to identify their feelings and support them to regulate their emotions and develop a sense of right and wrong.
• Staff model the behaviours they expect to see from the children. They show their positive attitudes toward learning through high levels of concentration and enjoyment. They engage in independent play where staff are close by to offer praise and encouragement. This gives children a sense of pride in their achievements and the enthusiasm to keep trying. For example, when children are building towers with toy bricks, they learn how to balance them to stop the tower from falling. They cheer and clap when they succeed.
• Each key person knows their children well. They build strong bonds with the children, helping them feel safe and secure at playgroup. Children show confidence and a sense of belonging as they play and explore the activities available to them.
• Staff have developed daily routines that help children know what is happening now and next. They offer free-flow play at set times during the routine of the day. However, there are times when the routine is not flexible enough to meet the needs of some children who prefer to learn outdoors. This, at times, can impact on their ability to engage and focus on meaningful play.
• Staff share with parents information about their child's progress and interests. They offer support in how parents can extend this learning further at home and encourage a love of reading through the lending library, which is available each day for parents and children to use.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance daily routines to support the individual needs of children more consistently.