Tops Babbacombe

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children feel safe and content. They arrive with big smiles. Children put their arms out to staff for a cuddle. They happily wave goodbye to their parents and eagerly join their friends to play. Staff are kind and attentive to children's needs. They support children to learn the routines of the day. For example, staff show new children where to hang up their coats and bags. Children develop a sense of belonging to the setting and settle in quickly.

There is a well-designed curriculum in place. Since the last inspection, leaders have improved staff understanding and the implementation of the curriculum. Following training from leaders, staff focus on children's interests to plan their learning experiences and next steps of development. Staff gather information from parents on what interests their children. They work collaboratively together. Subsequently, staff notice children are more motivated to engage and display higher levels of curiosity during their play.

Parents comment that their children learn good manners and are confident in managing their self-care skills. For example, parents observe that their children know how to wash their hands at home. Parents state their children are better equipped to share and make friends since attending the setting.

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

• All children make good progress in their personal, social and emotional development. Staff help children to recognise different emotions. They show babies and toddlers pictures of different behaviours, such as 'kind hands'. These children begin to understand how to interact positively with each other. Staff use puppets and 'emotion stones' with pre-school-age children to help them regulate their emotions. They frequently describe how they and their friends are feeling.
• Children are independent. Staff support babies and toddlers to clean their hands before they eat. They model how to use large spoons so babies and toddlers can self-serve their lunch. Pre-school-age children cut up their fruit for snack. Staff remind these children where to place their fingers safely when they do this. Children listen and follow instructions from staff. They use the safety knives competently and show good self-esteem when they achieve their task.
• Babies enjoy singing and dancing to songs. They clap and dance to the music. However, sometimes staff do not engage in enough back-and-forth conversation with babies and toddlers to promote their early communication and language skills further. For example, at lunchtime, staff do not consistently talk to babies and toddlers and it is very quiet. During these times, babies and toddlers do not have opportunities to hear new language or practise their early speaking skills.
• Pre-school-age children are imaginative. They put on oven gloves in the role-play kitchen and pretend to make cakes and pizzas. Staff join in and order what pretend food they would like. However, staff do not develop these children's thinking and speaking skills further to give them more time to process their thoughts and respond to questions. For example, at times, staff ask these children questions and quickly answer them before the children can.
• Pre-school-age children learn about numbers and the concept of time. They discover that they have grown and are too tall to fit under the playhouse door. Staff talk to them about why this may have happened. Children know it is because they are growing over time and getting bigger. They say 'It is because we are now four.'
• Babies and toddlers develop their finger dexterity. They practise pushing buttons on a board. They are curious and watch the switches go on and off. Toddlers show an interest in how things work. They collect a keyboard and press the keys. Toddlers tell staff 'Mummy got one'. Staff acknowledge their interest and play alongside them.
• Leaders and staff work closely with other professionals to meet the needs of all children. For example, they work in partnership with schools to better prepare children for their next stage of education. Staff share information on children's learning and development, and this helps to ensure a smooth transition.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to engage in more back-and-forth conversation with babies and toddlers to promote their early communication and language skills further
• develop pre-school-age children's thinking and speaking skills further to give them more time to process their thoughts and respond to questions.