The Crescent Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are excited to arrive and settle well at this friendly playgroup. The manager and staff have a nurturing approach and provide an abundance of support. This enables children to feel secure in their new environment. Staff demonstrate a deep understanding of children's early experiences and interests. They use this knowledge to create a stimulating learning environment that supports the needs of all children who attend. This ensures that children remain deeply engaged in meaningful play throughout their time at the playgroup.

Children form close bonds with each other. Staff make good use of regular group sessions to encourage children to get to know one another and establish friendships. Children are kind and helpful and demonstrate empathy towards others. For example, they hold the hands of their friends to warm them up after playing outdoors.

Children of all ages demonstrate high levels of independence. The manager and staff provide plenty of opportunities for children to complete age-appropriate tasks. For example, they encourage children to put their own coats and boots on before going outside. Children pour their own drinks at meal and snack times and confidently use brooms to help sweep up after playing with sand.

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

• Relationships between staff and parents are of a high standard. Parents receive continuous updates on children's progress. They attend regular consultation sessions and gather ideas about how to support children's learning at home. Parents are complimentary about staff and the nurturing care they provide. They acknowledge the positive impact this has on children's progress and well-being.
• Staff place sharp focus on developing children's communication skills. They create regular opportunities for children to engage in group discussions, and they interact well with children during all activities. The manager adopts additional age-appropriate strategies to further support children's language development. For example, children take part in regular sessions to develop their early reading skills, to prepare them for their next stage of learning.
• The manager and staff understand how children learn best. They are always on hand to offer support, creating an environment where perseverance is valued. For example, when children struggle in a construction activity, staff offer encouragement and advice. Children proudly show off their accomplishments and receive an abundance of praise for their efforts and achievements.
• Staff adapt activities well to meet the learning needs of all children who attend. Their understanding of individual children ensures that activities are made suitably challenging. For example, children are deeply engaged in a sand activity.
• Young children count the scoops of sand they place in various vessels. They explore concepts such as capacity by determining when containers are 'full' and 'empty'. Older children, as well as the most able, identify numbers that are hidden in the sand. They are encouraged to make links to numbers that are significant to them, such as their age and that of their friends.
• Children's learning is well sequenced and builds on what they can already do. For example, children strengthen their hand muscles by creating characters and shapes using modelling dough. Staff then encourage children to develop their fine motor skills further by using paint pens to draw pictures and follow patterns. Once confident, children follow the outlines of letters and shapes using pens, building their understanding of how to hold them correctly.
• The manager and staff have a strong understanding of their role in keeping children safe. They demonstrate good knowledge of the signs and symptoms that can indicate a child is at risk from harm. Staff confidently discuss the correct process to follow if they have safeguarding concerns. They complete regular, robust risk assessments of all areas of the playgroup.
• Children behave well in the playgroup and are learning to resolve conflicts independently. For example, when children try to sit at the same space for lunch, they both move over. They discuss how, if they each sit on one side, they can share the chair. However, on occasion, staff do not fully support children's understanding of the consequences inappropriate actions may have on themselves and others.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to establish appropriate and consistent methods in developing children's understanding of the consequences of inappropriate actions.