The Island Little Herons Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are motivated and enthusiastic learners. They learn new things every day and take part in activities that have been planned specifically to match their interests and needs. Children form strong bonds with staff and peers. They confidently share ideas and value each other's contributions to help solve problems. For example, children work together to remove sand from the diagonally placed tubing as they notice that it slowed down their cars going through. They use water in small amounts at first but discover that a higher volume is needed to remove most of the sand. They celebrate their successful teamwork by giving each other a 'high five'. This allows children to think critically and experience success jointly.

The outdoor learning environment provides children with a multitude of exciting opportunities to explore. They experience physical activities that strengthen their small and large muscles. For example, children develop their hand control and cutting skills by slicing small cucumbers. They clamber up the climbing frame and whizz down the slide with good body control. Older children use their imaginations to build structures with wooden planks, such as a see-saw or a skateboard. Younger children weave in and out of trees, carefully manoeuvring their bodies to avoid the leaves and branches. This helps promote children's good health and well-being.

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

• Staff continually observe children to find out what they know and can do. They teach children through carefully planned activities that focus on what children need to learn next. Staff nurture children's interests and provide them with experiences that build on their knowledge. For example, they are encouraged to notice how sand mixed with paint changes their previous experiences of using paint alone. This helps to make learning meaningful for children.
• Staff form affectionate bonds with all children. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. The curriculum is adapted to meet their specific needs. For example, a signing programme is used to help children to communicate. The setting works in partnership with outside specialists, such as speech and language therapists, to support children's language development. Children with SEND show equally good progress as their peers.
• Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders have adapted the curriculum to address gaps in children's social skills, as well as their communication and language. Children, who need additional support, work in focused language and social programmes, which has proved effective. The youngest children show an increased use of vocabulary. For example they say,
• 'doll is wet and now drying'. Older children use descriptive language effectively. For instance, they cut cucumber pieces and say, 'lots of little cucumbers'. This shows that children acquire language well.
• Children show an increasing awareness of routines in the day. They are able to manage their self-care needs independently, such as taking care of own belongings and tending to their toilet needs.
• Children learn about festivals of other cultures. However, their own diverse backgrounds, cultures and home languages are not always celebrated and shared. This means that children do not get opportunities to fully explore what makes them unique.
• Overall, staff interact well with children to extend their learning. However, at times, they do not fully consider opportunities to deepen children's knowledge and understanding to an even higher level. For instance, older children when listening to a story are asked to name animals in the pictures, which they do with ease. Children are capable of being challenged much further, for instance, playing with words related to rhythm and rhyme in the story.
• Leaders understand the importance of building a strong partnership with parents. They keep parents informed of their children's ongoing progress, through meetings and an online application, which parents value. Parents comment that their children have made good progress in their speech and social skills and are prepared well for school.
• Children behave well and are courteous to others. They learn to identify different emotions and why they may feel a certain way. They demonstrate self-regulation techniques, if they become a little distressed, by asking staff to read them a book. This helps to empower children to make appropriate choices about their behaviour.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• make consistent use of opportunities to deepen and extend children's knowledge and understanding and take their learning to an even higher level
• provide children with opportunities to celebrate and share with others, their home languages and cultural experiences, to make them feel even more valued and unique.