The Wendy House

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are eager and motivated to learn. They form close bonds with the friendly and nurturing staff, who are dedicated to supporting their individual needs. Children demonstrate that they feel settled and secure. They understand staff's clear expectations for behaviour and are polite and considerate of one another. When any children feel upset or unsure, staff comfort them with kindness and sensitivity. They respectfully support children to understand and manage their feelings and emotions. As a result, children quickly settle and happily engage in their chosen activities.

Children benefit from a well-structured curriculum that leaders have designed to ensure they are well prepared for their next stage in learning. Staff place a strong focus on encouraging children to develop their independence, social skills and ability to speak with confidence and fluency. Children enjoy taking part in interesting learning experiences with their friends. For example, they relish the challenge to work together to measure their feet. They listen carefully to staff's clear instructions and make predictions as to how big or small their feet might be. Children piece together cubes and figure out how many cubes match the length of their foot. They count accurately and gain a firm understanding of mathematical concepts. Children concentrate deeply as they investigate and develop their critical thinking skills. They gain the important skills they need to make good progress in their learning.

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

• Staff read to children frequently and recognise the positive impact this has on children's communication and language development. For example, they answer children's questions and talk to them about the plot and characters in a familiar story. Staff explain the meaning of new vocabulary, such as 'scuttled' and 'dandelion'. Children listen with interest and are keen to make links between the events in a story and their own experiences.
• Staff place a strong focus on children developing high levels of independence, especially in their own self-care routines. For example, children learn techniques to make it easier to put on their own coats. They clear their plates and cups after eating their snacks. Children take pride in being helpful and develop a positive sense of achievement in their ability to do things for themselves.
• Children spend plenty of time outdoors, benefiting from the fresh air. They are physically active and develop their core strength and agility as they manoeuvre different bicycles, tricycles and scooters around the playground. Children learn the importance that exercise has on leading a healthy lifestyle.
• Staff provide experiences for children to gain new skills and broaden their knowledge. Overall, staff interactions with children are effective in extending their learning. However, at times, some staff do not always talk to children in greater depth to expand their knowledge even further.
• Children consistently behave well. For instance, children invite their friends to join them to play with diggers in the sand. When they notice that their friend does not have a vehicle, they kindly get one for them. Children are inclusive and welcoming of one another as they form close bonds and friendships.
• Staff organise a balance of structured activities and opportunities for children to explore and play freely. They carry out well-planned and engaging activities with children in small groups. However, the organisation of larger group times, such as when children gather together before lunch, is not always successful in ensuring children maintain their concentration and attention. Therefore, not all children participate and benefit equally at these times.
• The manager uses additional funding well. She carefully considers how this would benefit individual children. For example, she purchases resources such as scissors, glue sticks and pencils to send home for parents to use to continue supporting children's fine motor skills. She is dedicated to helping parents value the key role they play in enhancing their children's learning.
• The manager makes sure the well-being of her staff teams is prioritised. Staff report that they feel happy and valued in their roles. The manager encourages staff to be reflective and consistently strive for improvement. For example, during team meetings, she encourages staff to share what they feel the strengths of their colleagues are, to boost morale. Staff share ideas from any training courses they have attended and work as a close team to implement positive changes to the provision for children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• increase support for staff to develop their interactions with children to make sure they consistently expand and deepen children's knowledge around the areas they teach
• review the organisation of large-group activities to ensure these times fully encourage children to focus and concentrate.