Winton Children's Centre

Inclusion: Strong standard

The ethos of this setting is for everyone to feel included and valued. Leaders and staff are highly skilled at swiftly identifying children's needs and putting provisions in place to support them. For example, sign language is currently being embedded as part of children's everyday learning to help them to develop other forms of communication from a young age. Leaders and staff are highly in tune to children's individual needs, and they demonstrate a strong understanding that all children learn and develop in different ways. They have developed a calming, safe space called 'the nest', which has been implemented to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The staff within this area are highly passionate about their role and have an excellent understanding of strategies to help children progress in their learning. For example, large equipment is used in the morning to help the children burn off some energy so they can then focus on more learning-based activities.

Leaders work closely with families and other professionals to build an inclusive and child-centred environment. Families whose children will need additional support while attending the setting attend 'access visits' as part of their settling process. This allows the setting to work with the family and other professionals to ensure any adaptations to the environment can be made before they access the provision. Funding is used effectively to purchase resources that benefit children's development.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders prioritise children's communication and language. From a young age, staff introduce simple language into their play, such as 'on top' as they stack cups. Older children explore real-life resources, such as vegetables and flowers in the mud kitchen. As they play, staff ask engaging questions to encourage children to convey their understanding. Learning is highly inclusive and staff swiftly make adaptations, when necessary, to support all children's needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, during group activities, staff thoughtfully place resources where they can be clearly seen by all.

Since the last inspection, leaders have developed a child-centred curriculum that targets children's individual needs, which are identified through continuous assessment. Staff are developing their ability to widen learning opportunities and refine their practice to support all children to develop. Children engage in exciting experiences as they thread materials to develop their small hand movements. They practise their large physical skills in the outdoor environment as they jump, balance and climb with the support of staff. However, at times, children occasionally flit between activities and do not fully meet the intended learning outcome. They would benefit from more explicit teaching to ensure that they are fully embedding the skills and knowledge staff intend for them to learn. This will help further support progression in their ongoing development.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are making positive progress from their starting points. They have opportunities to take safe risks and test out their skills. This helps build on children's confidence and independence in their learning.

Children listen intently to stories and follow simple instructions. They show positive attitudes to learning as they confidently count pictures of sea creatures when prompted by staff. Children are developing well in their mathematical learning. They use mathematical language in their play as they identify small and big pom-poms while creating a picture.

Younger children are progressing well in physical development. They confidently explore the area, developing their grasp as they explore resources in the sand pit. They happily babble and giggle as they interact with staff, who name objects, and children repeat some of the key sounds. All children are making positive progress in all areas of learning and development.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Children thrive in this warm and welcoming environment. Staff speak to children in a calm and caring way, which models positive social skills to children. Leaders have recently placed more emphasis on supporting and understanding children's behaviour. However, this practice is not yet consistently embedded across the setting. For example, procedures to ensure all staff understand expectations for children's behaviour are still being established. Children interact with their peers and staff, and they do so in a polite and well-mannered way. Staff teach children about empathy. They pose questions to children to help them express their feelings and understand how their actions may make others feel sad. This helps children learn about being respectful of others.

Leaders place a high emphasis on regular attendance. They work closely with parents to ensure sessions meet the needs of both the children and the family to limit inconsistent attendance. This helps children develop a secure routine in preparation for them transitioning to school.

Leaders are working on the daily routine to provide more consistency for children. Typically, this works well and helps children to feel confident and secure. However, some minor inconsistencies remain where it is not yet fully embedded. For example, staff transitioning children through parts of the daily routine can sometimes be a little disorganised. This leads to some confusion for some children. This does not consistently support children's understanding of what is happening and what is coming next.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Staff build strong, caring relationships with their key children and are highly attuned to their individual needs. They are often able to recognise and respond to children's cues. Children seek out staff to show them structures they have made, and they beam with happiness as staff praise their achievements. They settle comfortably on staff's laps, enjoying cuddles and reading stories. Children demonstrate that they feel secure, and staff promote their emotional wellbeing effectively.

Leaders and staff support children to develop positive attitudes to healthy living. Staff provide daily opportunities for children to get fresh air and engage in physical activity. They encourage all children to follow healthy practices, such as washing their hands and wiping their noses. Areas where children can freely access resources to support their self-care skills have been added into the environment to encourage children's independence. Free-flow access to the outdoor environment builds on children's confidence to practise their physical skills, such as running, jumping and riding bikes. Staff allow children to take safe risks but stay close to provide support if needed. This helps children learn how to keep themselves safe in a secure environment.

Independence is highly embedded throughout the setting. 'Special helpers' take on roles at lunchtime, such as handing out plates and cutlery. This helps children to feel valued and develop a sense of pride. Even the youngest children are encouraged to try and pour their own drinks and feed themselves. Children are developing well with their personal care skills.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Since the last inspection, there has been a change to the leadership team that has had a positive impact on the day-to-day running of the setting. Leaders have established partnerships with parents, who feel valued and listened to. Leaders and staff are working closely with parents to help improve consistency between home and the setting, particularly in relation to supporting children's behaviour. Stay-and-play sessions, workshops, outings and the lending library strengthen home learning and shared reading.

Leaders are ambitious in their vision for the setting and strive to ensure that children get the best start to life. They focus on developing staff through training and monitoring to help further embed staff knowledge. However, this is not yet consistently implemented. Some policies and procedures that are used to train staff on how to fully carry out their roles are not effective for their intended purpose. However, leaders have identified this and are supporting staff in procedures to follow while policies are being updated and reviewed. Their enthusiasm to enhance practice empowers staff to also take a key role in developing opportunities for children. For example, where staff notice parts of the environment that may hinder a child, they proactively adapt it to ensure all children can be included. The positive impact of recent training to support children's communication and language can already be seen throughout all the rooms in the setting. This is supporting children to be fluent communicators.

Leaders monitor the effectiveness of changes. Leaders set high expectations for all staff and are addressing the weaker areas of practice. However, they need more time to fully embed these improvements. They have recently adapted the environment based on the current needs of the children. This is to help children prepare for their transition to school. Leaders and staff are passionate about the care and support they provide.