Venture Hope Cove

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Highly qualified staff are skilled in creating a nurturing environment where all children are supported to thrive. Children arrive excited and eager for adventures and fun. They show exceptional levels of concentration, focus and collaboration as they engage in activities of their choosing. For example, as they create a flower potion together, children take turns adding petals to the mix that they think look or smell nice. They share their joy with each other as they hold flowers up for their friends to smell. Children consider the scents and exclaim, 'This one is like marshmallows that mummy puts on hot chocolate.'

The curriculum is clear and ambitious for every child. Children experience learning opportunities that support them to develop, practise and master skills and knowledge. Staff prioritise supporting children to learn to care for themselves, each other and their environment. Staff support children superbly. For example, children are taught that their voice is their power and that they have choice. Staff remind children they must put their hand out in front of them and say stop if someone is doing something they do not like. They model caring for the environment. Children arrive at kindergarten holding a ladybird. Staff take the time to speak to them about its features and about its habitat. Children decide a leaf on a tree will be a safe place for it to live.

Happiness and joy are promoted. Staff develop close bonds with children. They model respect and value children's thoughts, feelings and ideas. Children have complete trust that they are cared for. This is clear from the contentment they show as they play. Staff know children extremely well. They assess what children already know and what they need to learn next. They seize every opportunity to consolidate and extend learning. As children enjoy a walk in the woods, staff point out features of the plants and trees. Children are intrigued by the inside of flowers and excitedly discuss if they have foxgloves in their own gardens.

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

• Children enjoy an extensive range of learning activities. Every day is a new adventure in the woodland, on the beaches, in the village and in the setting's garden. These rich and varied experiences help develop children's understanding of the community in which they live. On world kindness day, children enjoy making and giving cards to members of the community, such as the coast guards and the fishermen, to thank them for their hard work.
• Staff are exceptional role models, and children are exceptionally well behaved. Staff speak calmly, softly and respectfully to each other, and the children adopt the same approach when speaking with each other. Young children share remarkably and negotiate in their play. They listen carefully to each other and respond with care. The garden environment is bustling yet harmonious. Staff prioritise supporting children to develop an awareness of others when they join the setting and reinforce this expectation through their shared approach of guiding play sensitively.
• Leaders and managers are passionate about their setting. They constantly reflect on their own and staff's practice. Procedures are in place to ensure all members of staff provide high-quality care and learning experiences for every child, every day. For example, children's needs are discussed daily. All staff are aware of focus children and discuss how to support them. Support for every child is tailored to meet their next steps in learning. There is a cohesive approach to providing children with targeted support so they can make rapid progress.
• Staff support children to persevere and enjoy learning from others. They scaffold and nurture the skills needed. This builds such high levels of pride in children as they all play and learn as a team. For example, before children use a rope to help them safely ascend a steep slope, staff speak with them about strategies to support the climb. They ask children if they have any advice for new friends who have not visited before. Children demonstrate and explain their ideas with such confidence. They show hand over hand as a safe way to climb the hill and emphasise the need to 'keep hold of the rope and go slowly around trees as they can be tricky'. They beam with pride at knowing how to help friends. Children show physical skills that far exceed that expected for their age and navigate challenging terrain with resilience and success.
• Children use resources and tools to extend their own learning, and staff place themselves sensitively within the environment so they can promote children's skills and understanding. They provide encouragement or support as needed. Staff role model using a hammer safely and support children to develop accuracy as they practise using it. Children progress from hammering into soft wood to hammering on harder materials as they develop in skill. Other staff share stories with children about travel. As they read, they asks questions about children's travel experiences, and they excitedly remember plane journeys to visit family.
• The environment that is created by staff supports all children to acquire and use language and blossom into skilled communicators. Staff listen intently to children and respond sensitively in each interaction. Staff interactions are considered and have real purpose. They support children to develop their independence to solve problems, appreciate and understand feelings of others and show kindness to all. For example, as children find spaces to sit for snack time and wish to sit in an occupied space, staff remark, 'I can see that is a problem for you, I wonder what you could do about it?' Children then take ownership of solving the problem and focus on making everyone feel happy and included.