STEP Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily and are ready to play and learn. Staff welcome families warmly and invite parents into the rooms to hand over. Staff build excellent rapport with parents and children. They spend time getting to know children well so that they settle easily. Staff observe children and identify their interests and next steps in learning.

Older children start the day in group time. They greet each other saying, 'good morning' or 'bonjour.' Staff are interested and interactions are authentic. Staff ask real questions and encourage children to think and explore language. For example, children eagerly explain why they like Fridays.

Children develop a love of reading and stories. Staff read and children practise making the sound of the train. Staff sit among children so that they feel safe and have a sense of belonging. Staff sing gleefully with babies. Children take it in turns to choose a song from the bag and enthusiastically copy actions and sounds.

Leaders create an ambitious curriculum that focuses on equality and communication. Staff adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of every child. They develop a nurturing, positive and happy environment, where children make choices and follow their interests. As a result, children feel confident and develop excellent communication and language skills.

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

• Staff create a wide range of stimulating and engaging activities for children to enjoy and explore. They recognise children's interests and stages of development, skilfully adapting activities so that all children are included.
• Staff plan activities so children can learn together in small groups, providing good opportunities for children to develop their communication and social skills. For example, staff share a recipe and encourage children to talk about their favourite foods. However, on some occasions, children do not understand what they are intended to learn and are unsure about what is expected. Some children become distracted and lose focus as a result.
• Children have lots of opportunities to develop independence and do things for themselves. They learn to dress themselves, use the toilet and clear their plates. Even the very youngest children take their empty cups to the sink. However, staff sometimes do things for children that they could be learning to do for themselves. One example is wiping children's noses.
• Staff promote healthy lifestyles and children enjoy free-flow access to outdoors. Staff create opportunities for physical play and exploration. Children climb, balance, ride bicycles and role play. Children collaborate and use language to share their ideas and act out familiar stories. They organise themselves and take it in turns to cross the troll's bridge.
• Staff skilfully embrace spontaneous learning opportunities that ignite children's interest. For example, children find a caterpillar, they excitedly watch how it moves. Children use language to speculate about where the caterpillar came from and where it lives.
• Children help to feed guinea pigs and learn about animal care. Staff recognise that pets help children to feel a sense of belonging and promotes their language development. Parents share photographs of children, families and pets so that children know they belong. As a result, children feel valued and confidently share their thoughts and feelings.
• Children form strong bonds with staff. This helps them to feel emotionally secure. Two-year-olds gather for a story and ask staff for a cuddle. Staff sit among children as they rest so that children are calm and happy.
• Staff work closely as a team to support children, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They collaborate with other professionals, develop individual learning plans and share ideas with parents to support learning at home. Leaders spend additional funding wisely to support all children.
• Parents speak glowingly of the setting. They receive information about children's progress in daily conversations and on an app. Parents trust staff and work in partnership to build strong links between home and nursery. Parents are involved and say that staff skilfully support children to become confident communicators. They say that children love coming to the setting.
• Staff have regular supervision meetings with leaders who support their well-being and professional development. Leaders say that the setting is evolving, and that staff share insightful ideas about how the setting could further improve. Staff say that this is a good place to work.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the organisation of planned group activities so that children can understand, focus and achieve with fewer distractions
• provide more opportunities for children to develop their independence and self-care skills, such as wiping noses.