Stone with Woodford Playgroup (Village Hall)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and are eager to get into playgroup. They separate from their parents easily and demonstrate confidence as they rush in to start playing. Children settle in quickly and have a wide range of resources available to them; this allows children to make their own choices about what they want to play with.

Children develop secure relationships with the staff who care for them, and this helps children to feel safe. Children cuddle into staff when they need to rest and eagerly sit on their laps to listen to stories. All children behave well; they are kind and considerate of their peers and they talk fondly of each other. Children know the rules that are in place, and they help their friends by reminding them of the rules. For instance, as children eagerly choose their snack, they remind each other to not take too much as they need to share.

Children form nice friendships within the playgroup. They play cooperatively together and involve their friends in their games. Children rush in excitedly from their nature hunt, to tell their friends about the snail they have found in the garden.

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

• Staff work well together as a team. They provide a curriculum based on how children learn and what they need to learn next, using children's interests. Staff have good methods in place to monitor children's progress and they use this information well to target their teaching.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents are very happy with the care and support that their children receive. Parents say that the friendly and welcoming staff take time to get to know the children and help them to develop confidence. Parents report that staff keep them well informed about their children's progress. Parents say that their children thoroughly enjoy their time at playgroup.
• Staff use good methods to work in partnership with other professionals. They recognise the benefit of sharing information and working closely with the other settings that children attend, to create a shared approach to children's care and learning.
• Overall, staff support children's concentration and focus well. However, during large group times, staff do not always consider how to minimise distractions to children and, as a result, children fidget and lose focus. This has an impact on children's ability to listen and concentrate on what staff want them to learn.
• Key-person systems are effective. Staff know the children and their families well. They gather information to help them to get to know children and their backgrounds, and to follow their interests. However, staff do not consistently use the information that they have to encourage children to develop and use their home language, to extend their speaking skills further and celebrate their diverse backgrounds.
• Staff recognise that children need opportunities to have exercise and physical play. Children eagerly join in with music and movement sessions. They practise their jumping and hopping, and use their 'fast feet' to get their hearts beating faster. Staff help children to learn about the importance of exercise and the impact it has on their bodies.
• Staff support children's mathematical awareness well. They use mathematical language as children play, encouraging children to explore mathematical concepts. Staff involve children in counting the number of plates, cups and chairs that they need for mealtimes and staff question children to encourage them to work out if they need more or less.
• Staff provide children with a good range of interesting activities to encourage children to be involved. Children use a mirror and various resources to create their own pictures of themselves and their families. They confidently talk about their appearance and what their family members look like. Children develop a range of skills during this activity; they practise using scissors to cut out different-shaped eyes and mouths, and they work on their pen control as they draw and colour in.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the organisation of group times so that children are able to remain engaged and focused
• provide more opportunities for children to develop and use their home language in play and learning, to support their language and communication development and to celebrate their individuality.