The Ashmore Play Hub

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are at the centre of this warm and welcoming setting. They leave their parents with ease, put away their lunch boxes and hang up their coats before eagerly going to play with their friends. This familiar routine gives children a sense of security and builds on their confidence. Children develop strong attachments to their key person, who is on hand to welcome them with smiles and general conversation. Most children settle quickly into the day's activities. Staff recognise those children who may need reassurance and act on this quickly with extra cuddles. This supports children's emotional well-being.

The managers and staff have a strong ethos for the setting. They want children to learn life skills that develop their independence and ensure they are ready for the next stage in their learning. Staff help children to develop their independence skills as they encourage them to try to put on and fasten their coats. Staff support children to manage their own self-care routines, such as with toileting and washing and drying their own hands.

Staff model good behaviour. Children are kind to each other, learn to share and take turns. Staff quickly distract from unwanted behaviours to ensure that they do not escalate. Therefore, children's behaviour is generally good. Staff also teach children rules to keep them safe. For example, children know to wait for their friends to finish before using the slide, and they know not to walk at the bottom of the slide when others are coming down it.

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

• Staff gather information on children's starting points and interests from parents when their children first start. They use this information to inform their planning and develop a well-sequenced curriculum. For example, children have been collecting leaves and conkers. Staff use this interest to discuss autumn and how the seasons change. Children develop imagination and fine motor skills as they manipulate dough to make their interpretation of hedgehogs. Other children paint 'stick men', which also links to their story.
• Children of all ages have the opportunity to develop a range of skills across the curriculum. For example, children develop a range of skills outdoors as they make marks by pushing tractors in the sand. They develop their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills by filling and emptying containers. They use their large muscles as they run and use balance toys confidently. Children look for spiders in the garden and see how they differ from the pretend spiders. In the main, the curriculum supports children's learning. However, staff do not always challenge and extend children's learning as far as possible to help them make the most progress.
• Children make good progress in their communication and language skills. Staff narrate children's play and involve them in conversations about their day. However, staff do not always take the opportunity to further children's communication and language skills by using open-ended questions or introducing new vocabulary during their daily play.
• The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is good. Staff identify gaps in children's learning quickly and work thoughtfully with parents. The knowledgeable staff seek support from other professionals and swiftly implement learning plans. Additional funding is used well to support children's learning and additional requirements. This ensures all children make good progress from their starting points.
• Partnerships with parents and supporting children's home learning have been focuses of the setting. Staff support these in a variety of ways, such as homework packs and book lending. Parents say that they are extremely happy with the setting. They praise the staff and say how good the daily and termly communication is. They also say how they value the care and support that the staff give their children.
• Staff feel that the managers support them well. Staff can access training for both mandatory reasons and to further develop their teaching skills. Staff feed back to other staff about new learning from training, and this helps to continuously raise standards.
• Children start to develop healthy lifestyles. Staff talk to them about healthy eating and supply healthy snacks. After lunch, children are encouraged to brush their teeth and parents say that this has also had a positive impact at home. Children have daily fresh air and exercise to ensure their well-being.
• The setting is actively involved with the community. For example, the children help to decorate the outside of the nursery for Remembrance Day as part of 'Wednesfield in Bloom'. This helps children to learn about the local community and gives them a sense of pride about the setting.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen teaching to ensure that staff offer children relevant challenge to ensure that all children make even better progress
• ensure staff take all opportunities to use open-ended questions and introduce new vocabulary to fully extend children's language and communication skills.