Tots and Juniors

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily. They are confident to say goodbye to their parents and to go inside to see what activities are available to them. Staff welcome children warmly and encourage them to choose what they would like to play with. Children are encouraged to work well together. Older pre-school children help their younger friends to find items of different colours during games and children work together to build roadways. They decide they want to make a bridge and find small plant pots to raise the roadway sections. Children are curious and excited to explore, and use their own ideas and imagination as they play with items that reflect those they have at home.

Staff know the children well. They take account of children's interests and successfully engage children as they play together. Staff help children to think about how they can extend their own learning and how they can overcome difficulties they encounter. Children begin to learn about keeping themselves and others safe. Staff talk to them about being careful when they play together, as they try to bounce balls through rolling hoops. Children giggle with excitement when they get the ball through the hoop and are eager to keep trying. They look before they roll the hoops to check their friends are not in the way.

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

• The management team work closely with staff, who comment that they feel valued and supported by the owner and the manager. Staff receive effective supervision and reflect on their work. Management is committed to keep staff's knowledge up to date through training and team meetings. The reflective approach ensures that the play environment and the activities provided for children remain fresh and interesting to them.
• Overall, staff are effective in their teaching. Children thoroughly enjoy their positive and encouraging interaction during play. Staff allow children to lead their own play and talk to children about what they are doing. This contributes to children thinking about how they can use the resources. Staff suggest children can add different things into an activity, to extend their interest. However, on occasion, as children become deeply focused in an activity, staff move away from children to do other tasks, which interrupts children's learning.
• Staff are mostly effective in promoting children's communication and language skills. They speak clearly to children and, when required, repeat words back to them correctly. Children are developing their vocabulary as staff introduce descriptive words during play. Children show anticipation when a staff member brings a sealed box to them. She refers to a previous occasion, where the box was 'big and heavy' and asks if children remember. Children lift the box and say it is 'light' and try to guess what is inside. However, occasionally, some staff speak quickly to children and give them lots of information all at once. This does not give children time to think about what they want to say in response.
• Staff are very attentive towards children throughout the day and promote their independence skills. They recognise when children need to have a change to the activities and when they are hungry. Staff supervise children well as they play and help them be confident to make choices about what they do.
• Staff help children to learn about the expectations for behaviour and this results in children behaving well. All staff follow a consistent and calm approach, clearly explaining to children the reasons why certain behaviour is not acceptable. Staff treat children with care and respect at the setting and give children lots of praise throughout the day.
• Parents make complimentary comments about the setting. They find staff and management supportive. Parents comment on the progress their children make in their social skills, friendships, speech and confidence. Staff value information from home about children's interests and provide opportunities for children that widen their experience. For example, children who have fewer opportunities at home to take part in sensory play can explore materials, including water and tea bags, as they make 'potions and tea' in the mud kitchen outside and help to feed the chickens and collect the eggs.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff's ability to promote and encourage children's conversational skills
• improve the organisation of activities, so staff can continue interacting with children and promote their learning without being distracted by other routine tasks.