Tissington Kindergarten

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders and staff warmly welcome children into the kindergarten by name. They have discussions with parents to find out how the children are feeling and what has happened in children's lives since they were last in kindergarten. The information gained is used by staff to initiate conversations and to include children in activities and experiences pertinent to their current needs and fascinations. Children become engrossed in play. Staff skilfully interact and intervene to support children to increase their skills and knowledge, particularly when children need extra support in some aspects of their development.

Children enthusiastically play outdoors with a wide range of fixed equipment that has increasingly challenging learning elements. For example, children's climbing skills change from negotiating steps for the youngest children to scaling ladders for the older children. At each stage of climbing, and in all other activities, children are taught how to stay safe and they develop an understanding of how rules help to keep them and others safe.

Staff make good use of the local environment and community to increase the range of ways that children can learn. They understand that children learn in many different ways and they work hard to make learning accessible to all the children in the kindergarten. On walks in the local community, for example, children visit the local wells and build up confidence in their physical ability as they jump over the water overflow and try not to get wet.

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

• Leaders have developed a strong curriculum founded on the prime areas of learning. They know exactly what they want children to know and be able to do when they transition from one room to another, and ultimately when they move on to school.
• Staff know what the curriculum is and how to put it into practice for the children. They see what individual children need and focus their work, in planned and spontaneous experiences, on those needs. Occasionally, staff do not extend experiences effectively, resulting in children who are competent and who can comfortably complete an activity, such as balancing on planks, not being given the opportunity to develop their skills further.
• Leaders carefully consider where improvements can be made in their provision. They consult with staff and listen to their ideas, taking some of them on board and using them in practice. Staff have the training they need to support them to carry out their duties for lead responsibilities, such as in the forest school.
• Staff prioritise children's communication and language development. They have a wide range of strategies in place to deliver on this priority. They use books, stories, songs and rhymes to introduce children to new vocabulary and the rhythm of speech. Younger children's communication is supported by staff using simple sign language as they speak. These children actively engage with staff and receive high levels of praise when they say a new word or make progress and string two or three words together. There are times when staff use immature forms of words, such as 'birdie', which does not support the development of children's spoken English well enough.
• Children's enquiring minds are developed by staff with timely and appropriate interactions. Staff observe and wait before approaching children who are playing purposefully. When they do interact, staff ask questions or make suggestions that take children's ideas and develop them. For example, as the older children experiment with mixing different colours of paint, staff ask them what changes the children think they will see. They extend the experience by adding white paint to the children's choice to introduce the concept of lighter and darker.
• Staff promote children's physical and emotional well-being in a range of ways that are relevant to the children. Children learn about healthy food by shopping at the butchers, growing vegetables and preparing dishes, such as stuffed mushrooms, with the kindergarten's cook. Children are supported and encouraged to use words to explain how they feel, rather than getting angry with themselves or others.
• The rural location of the kindergarten presents many opportunities for the staff to introduce children to local customs and traditions. For example, children 'dress' a well for the annual well-dressing festival. They also learn about different customs when people who celebrate in different ways share their celebrations with them.
• Parents receive detailed and regular feedback about their child. Parents praise the kindergarten leaders and staff highly for the quality of experiences their children have. Parents of children who need extra support keenly share how their children are supported at the kindergarten, right from when staff identify possible gaps in children's development to how they support parents to make referrals and access funding.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• increase staff understanding and confidence in how to extend older children's experience of physical development in the garden area
• improve how staff working with younger children use the names of objects so they avoid using immature language.