Vale Kids Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the setting eager and ready to start their day. Familiar staff know the children and parents well and greet them warmly. Older children find their friends in the 'pirate room' and investigate the activities set out for them. Younger children settle quickly with caring staff in a bright, spacious room. Learning is planned to build on what children already know and can do.

Staff promote children's communication effectively. They encourage children to join in conversations to help to extend their understanding and use of language. Staff introduce new words and give clear instructions. This helps to engage children in their learning and supports them to become effective communicators in readiness for their future learning.

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress from their starting points. Staff make effective use of children's interests to motivate them in their learning. For example, children enjoy exploring the fairy garden in a nearby woodland. This interest helps to enhance children's curiosity about nature and they discover facts about the world around them. Children are happy, well behaved and feel safe here. The nurturing staff foster close and positive relationships with the children and their families.

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

• Staff encourage a love of stories and rhymes. Children develop their interest in familiar books and thoroughly enjoy opportunities to sing and learn rhymes. Young children join in circle time and eagerly practise rhymes with actions. For example, they listen attentively and join in singing, 'If you are happy and you know it clap your hands', while performing actions. Opportunities such as these help to develop children's understanding of vocabulary.
• The setting has a strong focus on securing smooth transitions for children. Staff share information with teachers in school about children's learning. They also retain links with parents and children, who have since left and gone to school. For example, parents keep in touch with staff about how their child has settled in school and send pictures of their children in their school uniform in the first few weeks of term. Effective transition arrangements mean that children quickly settle with ease into their new routines.
• The setting ensures that the professional development of staff is considered. Leaders are very proactive in helping staff to reflect on their roles and responsibilities. Staff have clear targets in order to build upon their knowledge and skills. Regular supervisions are conducted to help staff in their roles. This strategic approach helps staff to reflect on their own practice and adjust their teaching to benefit the children they care for.
• Children develop their knowledge of mathematics throughout the day. For example, while counting blocks in a building area, children gleefully say, 'Just one more to make my tower of 10.' Having access to musical instruments throughout the day also gives children the choice to tap in rhythm or count drumbeats. This encourages individual children to follow their interest in music, as well as promoting use of mathematical concepts and language in play.
• Children are beginning to learn about their own culture through books and trips to the local area. They visit the local park to look at the community art installations, Remembrance Day memorials and Nativity scenes. However, staff are less skilled at helping children to develop their understanding of cultures other than their own to deepen their understanding of difference. Children are not fully supported to develop their awareness of similarities and differences between themselves and others.
• The setting monitors children's progress well. Staff quickly identify children who may require additional support. Outside professional support is quickly sourced, when required, in order to ensure that children receive the support they need. Children with SEND have specific plans in place to help to ensure their needs are met. As a result all children's needs are met and they make good progress from their individual starting points.
• Parents are very happy with the care and education the staff provide. They say communication is good and they have regular meetings with their child's key person. Parents value the support staff give them to help them to contribute to their child's learning at home. They enjoy reading the newsletters and join in a variety of events, including the offer of a free family meal at the adjacent cafe in summer. This effective partnership working helps to ensure positive relationships with families and a consistent approach to children's learning and development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• deepen staff's understanding of how to effectively support children's understanding of diversity.