St Pirans Playschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy attending this warm and caring setting. They excitedly greet their friends and the staff, as they explore the stimulating environment. Children are very secure as they know staff will support and comfort them. All children make good progress, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), through a well-planned and sequenced curriculum. Children have ample opportunities to practise what they have learned. For example, older children are learning the value of numbers and their sequence. They use numbered bottles to form a sequenced line and sing 10 green bottles. Later, they use this knowledge to correctly count vehicles in the sand. Babies practise climbing and walking as they move up and down on soft play equipment.

Children have a positive attitude to learning and they try hard to succeed. Knowledgeable staff are close by to offer the support children need to complete a task. Younger children explore making marks on paper with paint. Staff encourage them to find their own paper and choose the brushes they want. Children gain confidence to paint independently. Older children spread their own soft cheese onto crackers for snack time and have a go at chopping fruit. Staff praise and encourage children to help them succeed. Children behave well and know what is expected of them.

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

• Children make very good progress with their speech and language. Babies learn new sounds and words. Staff expertly talk about what the baby is playing with or looking at. They sing rhymes and share books with the babies. Younger children take part in rhyming activities and laugh as they sing familiar songs. Older children have discussions about growing strawberries. Staff extend their sentences, adding new words for the children.
• Children develop a strong awareness of healthy lifestyles. They are active in the garden, climbing, sliding, and playing ball games. They explore the home corner and talk about different foods. Children help to grow vegetables and know that they are good for them.
• Partnerships with local schools are very effective. The manager liaises regularly with the early years teacher, to ensure children going to school have the right skills in place to succeed. Staff develop children's independence skills, so they are confident to look after themselves in school. Children take off and hang up their own jackets and find their sun hats to go outside.
• Children learn about the world around them. They explore why apples have seeds. They plant seeds and help them grow. Older children independently fetch water for the seeds, reminding their friends that they need to look after them. Children learn about life cycles and watch tadpoles grow into frogs. They talk about the tadpoles to each other, suggesting what they might look like as they change.
• Staff have established an effective routine to support all children. Children know what to expect through each part of the day and learn to follow instructions. They enjoy taking part in the circle-time activities. However, sometimes, children are not supported as well as they could be during transitions, particularly with their social skills.
• Staff are very warm and caring towards all children. Babies have their needs met very sensitively. They join in with the older children for snack and outside play. Babies are carefully supported by their key person. They watch the older children and copy some of their play, such as climbing up the small slide. They chuckle as they succeed.
• The manager has developed a very strong and caring ethos with the staff. All staff work well together to develop the setting's ethos and policies. They are incredibly well supported to develop their own practice through training and sharing ideas. Staff consistently have high expectations for the children and are committed to giving them the best opportunities they can.
• Partnerships with parents are continuously developing. Parents are extremely happy with the care and experiences their children have. Staff share pictures and inform parents about what children have been doing daily. However, staff do not always inform parents about the learning opportunities that are offered to their children or what the staff have planned for next steps. This means sometimes children are not supported to continue their learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• further develop communication with parents so they are aware of their children's learning and next steps in the setting to support with their children's home learning
• continue to develop the routine and staff deployment during transitions to ensure all children are engaged in activities in a meaningful way.