The Ark

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Babies and toddlers settle extremely quickly at this welcoming and friendly setting. Happy, smiling children eagerly play with each other and staff. They demonstrate how content and safe they feel through the warm, secure relationships they make. Children engage in stimulating and interesting activities that excite their curiosity. For example, they explore shaving foam in a large tray. They squish and squash the foam through their fingers. Staff extend the activity by adding laminated facial features to the foam. Children giggle as they add eyes, nose and a mouth to make funny faces. Staff encourage the children to look at their own and each other's facial features. They learn about the similarities and differences that exist between them.

Staff support children's listening and attention skills, and children behave well. There is a strong emphasis on songs, rhymes and stories at this setting. For example, children sit, listen and excitedly clap their hands to the beat during a musical group-time activity. Staff use changes in rhythm, tone and dynamics to encourage children to listen and respond to what is happening. Children eagerly wait their turn as the song bag is passed around the group. They excitedly choose a small prop to determine their song choice. Children sing along with confidence and build on their vocabulary. This helps them to build on their rhyming and recall and develop their communication and language further.

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

• Leaders and staff are clear about the aims, values and ethos that drives the setting. They offer a broad and balanced curriculum that effectively sequences children's learning. Staff know what they want children to learn and how they will do this. Staff know children very well. They can talk at length about children's interests, development and their next steps in learning. Children make good progress at this setting.
• Children have plenty of opportunities to make choices at this setting. Staff support children at play and when developing their emerging self-help skills. However, on occasions, staff step in too quickly to help or answer their own questions before allowing children to answer. They do not always let children try for long enough and make their own mistakes. This means children do not always have enough time to process what is being asked of them or solve their own problems.
• Leaders report that they feel their partnership with parents is a key strength. They are passionate about working with parents to ensure children make good progress. Parents explain that the setting communicates with them very well. They know what children are learning and what the staff want their child to learn next. Staff offer tips and activities for children to learn at home.
• The setting benefits from strong community links. Children learn about their local community through regular walks and visits, such as to the local allotments, library and shops. They learn about different cultures and festivals. For example, the children try culturally diverse foods. This helps children learn about the diversity that exists in their community and the wider world.
• Leaders are passionate about the care and education they provide for children. They are highly reflective and ensure the environment meets the changing needs of children as they develop and grow. However, the outside area is overly cluttered. This impacts on the space children have when they engage in physical activity. This means those children who prefer to learn outside do not receive the same rich learning experience that is available inside.
• Staff are kind, gentle and encourage babies to get involved in their self-care. For example, during a nappy change, staff encourage babies to hold items of clothing or wipes. They use these times to build on their learning as they name parts of the body or look at posters on the ceiling. Staff are highly respectful of children's wishes, asking permission before changing clothes or wiping noses.
• Children behave well. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. Staff gently remind children to take turns and share. They use good strategies to support children's development in this area. For example, staff use sand timers to support children's understanding of when to relinquish a toy. Staff offer extensive praise when children behave as expected.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to identify when children need more time to discover ways of doing things for themselves and build on their independent learning
• review the way in which staff plan and use the outside area to provide children with the same rich learning experience that they have inside.