The Sheffield Children's Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children make rapid progress from their starting points. They have autonomy in their play and learning and are highly motivated and eager to join in with activities. Children continually build on their knowledge and experiences over time. They swiftly develop the skills they need for their future learning, particularly children with special educational need and/or disabilities (SEND). Children's transitions into the setting and onto school are carefully thought out, so children settle quickly and form secure bonds with staff and other children.

Children are consistently exposed to and encouraged to use new vocabulary that enables them to communicate effectively. Staff are highly skilled in using sign language alongside verbal cues to help them communicate. Children speak with confidence and are supported to use their home languages. Babies wiggle with excitement during a 'sing and sign' session. They copy actions and listen to a wealth of words. They use their mouth to make a variety of sounds and listen to rhythms in language. Children smile widely and babble in their interactions with staff and each other.

Children have high levels of respect for staff and other children. They are self-assured in social situations and are keen to know why visitors are in the nursery. They demonstrate their understanding of why behaviour rules are in place and recognise the impact that their behaviour has on others. Overall, children demonstrate high levels of self-control. When children struggle to manage their emotions or behaviour, staff are calm and patient, taking, swift and highly effective action to support them.

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

• Leaders demonstrate an exceptional commitment to the continuing improvement of the setting and are highly ambitious in their drive to provide excellent care and learning. Additional funding is targeted well to enhance learning for children. For example, the garden is undergoing further development to ensure children who prefer to learn outdoors always have access to high-quality resources. This, alongside workshops for parents to help them promote outdoor play, means children have many more opportunities to learn in the natural environment.
• Leaders have an in-depth understanding of their highly diverse community and the families who use their service. They provide a food and clothing bank for families who may be struggling, and support parents in liaising with other professionals. Leaders promote a healthy lifestyle and work with parents to promote children's oral health, including having a dentist visit the nursery regularly. Leaders are highly successful at giving children a rich set of experiences that promote an understanding of other people, families and communities beyond their own.
• Staff promote children's love of reading. Books are used highly successfully to promote children's learning in a wide range of subjects, such as animals, minibeasts and understanding emotions. Staff model new words for children, such as 'millipede' and 'scorpion'. There is no community library available so parents frequently borrow books and story bags to share with their children at home. These help parents with a range of issues, such as supporting toilet training and using objects of reference to promote communication with their children.
• Children build their physical skills highly successfully during outdoor play. The exceptionally well-equipped outdoor area offers a wealth of opportunities, and particularly benefits children who do not have access to an outdoor space. Children build their core strength using hula hoops. They learn to assess risk as they climb and slide. Children navigate wobbly bridges and slide down a firefighters' pole, which promotes their balance, coordination and strength.
• Leaders recognise that some staff need additional support to implement the curriculum highly effectively and give children the best opportunities to extend their learning, They have a clear and sharply focused professional development plan in place to help staff in raising their skills to the highest level. This means practitioners' skills and knowledge continually build and develop over time. Leaders are very aware of the pressures on staff and their workload. Any issues are dealt with appropriately and promptly. Staff work exceptionally well as a team. They support each other and feel they receive excellent support for their wellbeing from leaders.
• Partnerships with parents are exceptional. They are fully involved in nursery life and feel that support for them and their children is superb. Parents receive a wealth of information to support their children's learning at home and keep them safe. Parent workshops help them to develop their skills and knowledge so that they can give children the best opportunities to progress at home. For example, occupational therapists provide training for parents in promoting a 'sensory diet'. This supports children who struggle to process sensory information, so they can attend nursery, learn and manage their own behaviour more successfully.