Top Bananas Pre-School Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and keen to attend. They form warm and trusting relationships with staff. Babies benefit from a nurturing environment in which staff meet their care routines consistently, and provide close reassurance to help them feel secure. Children develop positive attitudes and social skills. They benefit from good role models who have high expectations of their behaviour. Children make friends, play and cooperate well with others and help when asked. Older children help others learn to share, such as telling them gently 'my turn now' and then 'here you go' when their turn comes.

Children explore the good range of activities and lead their own play confidently as they move around the playrooms. Staff respect and encourage children's ideas, and help them to fulfil these in their play. They provide activities to enrich children's experiences. For example, they take children on outings in the local community, and children learn about one another's home languages and beliefs. Children enjoy regular physical and outdoor play throughout the day. Babies practice standing and walking in safe spaces, and older children enjoy physical challenges, such as learning to balance on beams and kick balls.

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

• Staff deliver an interesting curriculum to encourage children's all-round development. This includes activities to support their personal interests and individual learning goals. Staff know the children well. They regularly assess children's learning, and quickly identify any gaps in their development to provide additional support. This helps children to make good progress.
• Staff encourage younger children to explore the activities through, for example, modelling what they can do. They ask children questions to test their knowledge, and challenge them to build on what they know and can do. For example, children learn how colours can be combined to make other colours and learn about shapes.
• Staff encourage children's communication and language development well overall. They verbalise babies' gestures and sounds to encourage their communication. Staff help children to learn new words to build their vocabulary. For example, children learn what 'vanilla' and 'cinnamon' are in a sensory dough-making activity. However, at times when the pre-school rooms become very noisy, some children become distracted and cannot be heard easily when they speak. This does not help to support their concentration or enhance their language skills further.
• Children enjoy lots of creative play. Younger children explore textures and colours during sensory play. Older children draw, paint, create their own role play, make sounds with musical instruments and make models.
• Children are interested and motivated to learn. Staff help them to prepare for their transition to school. Older children learn to recognise their names, to develop positive values and to manage their own personal hygiene. However, on occasions, staff do not help older children to learn how to manage tasks effectively for themselves. For example, not all children have opportunity to learn how to pour materials or to change their clothing to develop their independence further.
• Staff work successfully with parents and other professionals involved in children's care and learning to ensure they meet their needs consistently. For example, staff use activities recommended by external professionals to support children's language development. Staff have introduced a book-borrowing scheme, suggested by a child, to help parents encourage children's literacy at home. Parents share very positive views of the setting. They state, for example, that staff communicate well, nurture children's development, and reflect children's individuality within the setting.
• The management team works closely with staff to identify and make ongoing improvements to the quality of the provision. They use any additional funding for children responsibly, to have the most impact on their learning. The management team encourages staffs' professional development to enhance their skills. Staff feel well supported and valued by leaders who nurture their well-being.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop the organisation of large-group activities in the pre-school rooms to ensure children can concentrate and communicate well
• develop the curriculum and staff interactions to help older children learn to manage tasks effectively for themselves to enhance their independence.