The Toddler House

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a warm welcome to all children and families when they arrive at the setting. Children show their excitement when they see their friends and are eager to go and play. From the start of each child's journey, staff spend quality time getting to know their individual needs. This helps develop secure and trusting relationships. Children demonstrate positive attitudes towards their learning. For instance, babies eagerly explore sensory trays and are curious about the different objects they find. Staff support this interest by repeating the names of objects, helping to expand children's vocabulary.

Interactions between staff and children are consistently positive. Staff role model respectful behaviour through a kind and nurturing approach. They encourage children to use good manners when requesting something. For example, when staff ask children if they would like to join an activity, children respond with 'yes please'. Staff reinforce this with a polite reply, embedding respectful communication.

Staff encourage children to develop life skills to prepare them for their future learning, such as baking and cooking. For example, children measure and mix ingredients to make cakes for their friends' birthdays. Children learn about different cultural festivals and participate in themed activities. These experiences help children understand the wider world around them.

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

• Managers and staff maintain strong relationships with parents. Staff share regular updates to keep parents informed about their children's progress and development. Parents speak highly of the level of care and attention their children receive. They comment that their children have thrived since attending.
• Staff work in close partnership with parents and external agencies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff act swiftly when concerns arise and carefully plan tailored support to ensure a consistent approach. When children receive additional funding, staff thoroughly consider how best to use this. This enables all children to access their full entitlement and make progress from their starting points.
• Managers support staff well in their roles. Staff attend regular supervision meetings with managers to discuss their well-being and any ongoing training needs. Staff state they feel highly valued and speak positively about the support they receive. This motivates staff to deliver high-quality care for all children that attend.
• Staff assess and plan activities based on each child's individual next steps. For example, older children sit in small groups to explore letters and sounds. Some children engage in these activities. However, during some routine group times, younger children occasionally struggle to maintain focus and quickly lose interest. This means that not all children always have high levels of engagement in their learning.
• Staff motivate children and provide opportunities for children to be physically active. Children enjoy riding on bikes in the garden and climbing the climbing frame. During music and movement sessions, children copy actions, jump to the beat and sing along with enthusiasm. This supports developing coordination and a sense of rhythm.
• Staff promote a love of reading from an early age. Babies independently select books and present them to staff to read aloud. Older children confidently join in reading familiar stories. They giggle as they recall and recite parts of the book with staff. These experiences help strengthen their language and communication skills.
• Children benefit from a range of experiences that build on their interests. For example, children learn about sea life and choose which marine animals to create using modelling clay. They manipulate the clay carefully and show pride in their work. Staff offer praise and discuss the children's creations with them. However, on some occasions, staff do not always extend children's thinking or deepen their understanding beyond what they already know. This means not all staff effectively maximise opportunities to extend children's learning.
• Children develop self-care skills and a strong sense of responsibility for living things. They independently wash their hands before mealtimes, demonstrating secure hygiene routines. Children take pride in helping to care for the setting's pet rabbit and African snails. For instance, they help to feed the rabbit with staff support. Children develop an understanding of the importance of spraying water into the snail's enclosure to maintain a suitable habitat. These experiences support children's growing empathy and widen their understanding of the natural world.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review further how staff plan and organise daily activities and routines to help support children to maintain high levels of engagement
• refine how staff adapt their teaching to help support children to extend their knowledge and understanding even further to maximise their learning.