The Early Learning Camp

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff are kind and nurturing towards children. This helps children to feel safe and secure. Staff support children to explore their environment, which captivates their interest. Babies have lots of space to practise their gross motor skills. For instance, they eagerly pull themselves up on equipment and make their way around the room. Staff praise babies for their efforts and are on hand to assist where required. On the whole, children behave well. Staff acknowledge how even the youngest of children are feeling when they become slightly unsettled. This supports children's emotional security. Staff teach older children about empathy. This helps children to understand that some of their behaviour is unwanted.

The curriculum is rich and varied. This helps children to flourish and thrive. The nursery has excellent facilities for all children to experience the awe and wonder of outdoors. Children receive learning experiences outdoors tailored to their individual needs. They enjoy planting seeds and watching them grow. The vegetables are then used to make their own soups or for parents to take home and cook with children. Younger children enjoy listening to stories which staff tell in animated voices. Older children use their imagination as staff take them on an aeroplane journey. They collect their bags from their pegs and take their pretend passports to go through airport security to board a plane. Children say they are going to Paris and will visit a zoo.

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

• Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum which follows the lead of the child. Staff use the children's interests to plan activities which ignite curiosity. Consequently, on the whole, children are engaged in purposeful play. Children make good progress in their learning. That said, this is a new curriculum which is still being fully embedded across the nursery.
• Leaders place a strong focus on supporting children's communication and language development. Staff sing songs and rhymes to babies with lots of excitement. Babies join in with some words, sounds and actions. Staff also expose children to a rich vocabulary of words. Young children explore flowers in clay. They talk about the aromas and what they smell like. Manipulation of the clay helps to build dexterity in their fingers, which supports writing skills later.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. Staff celebrate children's differences. For example, staff complete physiotherapy with children who need it. Children either join in with their friends who are completing exercises or place a supportive hand on their shoulder. Staff work well with outside agencies. They implement strategies agreed with them and parents. Staff's high expectations of children with SEND mean they make the best possible progress they can.
• Staff sing songs to introduce different transitions from one activity to the other, for example a tidy-up song or a song about mealtimes for lunch. The aim of the 'rituals and routines', as they are called, is to help children transition into different parts of the day. However, staff do not always manage or organise these transitions effectively and, at times, this leads to the rooms becoming disorganised. This impacts on children's overall levels of engagement, as they either do not join in or they sit for periods of time unnecessarily.
• Staff speak highly about how leaders support their mental health and well-being. Leaders have effective systems in place to monitor staff's overall performance. They have regular discussions with staff about their practice and how this could be enhanced.
• On the whole, parents speak positively about the setting. Parents state that their children are happy and their child has made good progress in their learning. Information is shared regularly with parents, both face to face and online. Staff support parents in their child's learning. For example, the use of a lending library encourages parents to read with their children at home.
• Children learn about other cultures and religious festivals. This helps them to learn about different communities beyond their own. For St David's Day, children used ingredients to make their own Welsh cakes. These were then cooked on an open campfire. Staff teach children to manage their own risks. Children know the rules and boundaries when there is a fire. They follow these and talk about how the fire is hot and how they can keep themselves safe.
• Induction procedures are robust. This helps staff to develop a clear understanding and passion towards their roles and responsibilities. Staff, with the support of leaders, carry out effective risk assessments. This helps them to identify and remove risks within the environment. Staff are trained in paediatric first aid.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to further embed the curriculum to continually enhance children's learning so they make even more progress
• improve staff organisation when transitioning between nursery activities and routines so children are consistently engaged in their learning.