Tops Yeovil

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and keen to attend. Babies benefit from a nurturing environment in which they form close and loving bonds with staff. Older children enjoy lively play areas and lots of outdoor play. All children explore freely and confidently in the secure play areas. Younger children investigate many sensory resources, and older children build constructions, model with dough and create their own imaginative games. Children make good progress in their physical development. Babies practise crawling and walking safely, and older children enjoy new challenges, such as learning yoga postures.

Staff plan and deliver a broad curriculum to support children's individual interests, learning style and developmental needs. This includes outings in the local community to enhance their experiences, such as meeting care home residents and attending library rhyme time sessions. Children are interested, motivated learners, who join activities with curiosity and enthusiasm. Staff value children's choices and feelings and treat them with kindness and respect. Children of all ages develop positive attitudes. Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour and are very good role models. They help children to learn how to resolve disagreements effectively, to develop their social skills.

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

• The new management team has made many improvements to the quality of provision since the last inspection. This includes a programme of focused training and coaching that has helped to develop a well-qualified and consistent team of staff. As such, staff meet children's care and developmental needs well.
• Staff use effective systems to plan and assess children's learning. They provide challenges to build on what children already know and can do. For example, they help children to learn new words, shapes and to solve problems with puzzles and construction materials. Staff work effectively with external professionals to ensure any children with additional needs make the progress of which they are capable.
• Staff know the children well. They use spontaneous learning opportunities to enhance their development further. For example, when they observe children running around excitedly, they channel their energy into building a large balancing apparatus together. This helps children to develop more physical skills, to work together with others and to engage further in their play.
• Staff help to prepare children well for starting school. From a young age, children learn to be independent. Younger children serve themselves at mealtimes, and older children help with responsible tasks, such as laying the tables for lunch. Children of all ages enjoy books. Babies choose books to look at by themselves and with staff. Older children engage well at story times when they choose favourite books for staff to read. They learn about letters and sounds to support their early reading skills. Staff use books to help children learn more about topics such as transport and managing their emotions.
• Children learn new words regularly to expand their vocabulary, such as what a spirit level is when they explore play tools. Staff learn words in children's home languages and use props and gestures to help them understand the meaning of words. However, on the occasions when the playrooms become noisy, staff do not hear or respond to some quieter children's voices, to support their communication skills further.
• Children learn to develop healthy lifestyles. They enjoy lots of exercise and healthy meals and snacks, and they learn good handwashing routines. However, staff do not all help children to learn how to manage some aspects of their personal hygiene well, such as cleaning their noses hygienically.
• The strong and efficient management team works closely with staff and parents to make continuous improvements to the quality of the provision. Managers value and nurture staff's well-being. Staff have a good understanding of their safeguarding roles. This includes the risks to children, signs of abuse and procedures to follow in the event of any concerns about a child or adult.
• Staff develop successful partnerships with parents and external professional to meet children's needs consistently. Parents provide positive feedback regarding staff's communication, the good progress their children make and the warm relationships staff develop with the children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop the organisation of activities to ensure the voices of quieter children are heard, to encourage their communication skills even further
• develop staff practice further to help older children learn how to manage all aspects of their personal hygiene consistently well.