Tiddlywinks Playgroup Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet children with a smile as they arrive full of excitement ready for the day ahead. Children separate from their parents and carers with ease. They explore the learning opportunities that staff create for them. Children clearly enjoy the company of the staff, who make sure that every child is occupied in their learning and happy. Staff set out a varied range of activities that reflect children's interests and abilities. Staff embrace children's ideas when planning activities. Children know where to find additional resources to extend or vary their play.

Managers and staff have designed an interesting curriculum to ignite children's curiosity. For example, babies learn about different textures as they explore sensory resources. Older children enjoy singing and making music using various instruments in the outdoor area. All children access the outdoor area each day to develop their physical skills and support their well-being.

Staff have clear and consistent expectations of children. This helps children to regulate their behaviour effectively. For example, children know to listen at group times. They quickly remind their friends when they are not following the rules. Staff take a positive approach to supporting children's behaviour through regular praise. Children respond to this praise and behave very well.

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

• Staff develop a coherently planned and sequenced curriculum that builds on children's interests, knowledge and skills as they progress through the setting. Staff sing songs to babies, who beam with delight. This supports their developing communication and language skills. Older children build large towers with the soft-play blocks and staff model mathematical language, such as 'more' and 'less'. Staff ask children to predict how many blocks will balance on the tower. This supports children's mathematical skills.
• Large-group times are planned well. Children listen intently to familiar stories that staff read in a captivating way. They wait patiently for their turn in group activities and listen when their friends are talking. Children express their feelings and staff support less-confident children to participate in their own way. Children build on what they already know and recall past experiences. For example, they excitedly tell the group a rainbow comes after a storm.
• Staff support parents to provide healthy packed lunches for their children. Children have many chances to develop their independence. For example, they learn to use the toilet, wash their hands and wipe their noses. Staff encourage children to build these skills from an early age. Staff plan stimulating and safe environments, including when outdoors. This encourages children to explore freely.
• Managers and staff value contributions from parents and other professionals. This helps to build positive relationships to support all children. Staff promote an inclusive environment for all children.
• Staff establish excellent partnerships with parents. They make focused use of handover times to exchange information with parents about their children's day. To help parents support children's learning at home, staff invite them to come into the setting for stay-and-play sessions. Parents speak highly about the nurturing staff. Staff recognise and celebrate the diversity of children and families at the setting.
• Managers recognise the importance of regular professional development and work in partnership with the local authority to access relevant training. They provide staff with supervisory sessions and feedback on their overall practice. However, some staff working with babies have inconsistent knowledge or experience with this age group. More-experienced staff are are not consistently deployed to monitor staff with less experience and to provide support to them.
• Staff are friendly and the key-person system is generally effective. Staff accurately assess children, which means that gaps in children's learning are swiftly identified. All children make good progress in their learning and development. On the whole, staff form strong attachments with children. However, at times, new children do not always have one identified key person to help them to form secure attachments from the very start.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to improve monitoring systems to provide even greater consistency in teaching across all age groups of children
• review key-person arrangements to help children to form strong attachments right from the very start.