Bunny Run Childcare Centre & Schools Out Limited

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and safe at this setting.

They enjoy exploring the outdoor environment and talk excitedly about their friends and the pet rabbits. Children benefit from the warm and kind relationships they have with adults. As such, they play well together, taking turns on the trampoline and sharing the dressing-up clothes.

Babies are well supported to develop their physical and communication skills. Staff set up an attractive space for babies to explore. Children can recall previous learning.

For example, they talk about the recent Gruffalo story, which adults had read to them in the woods. Children talk t...ogether about their plans for the holidays, and adults listen to what they say, showing interest and valuing their contributions. Through participation in a 'children's council', where they are involved in making decisions about the setting, children's views are encouraged.

Children benefit from a range of practical opportunities to develop their understanding of the world around them. For example, they enjoy exploring the inside of pumpkins, talking about the seeds and what they could do with them and exploring what happens when they mix mud and water outside.

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

Leaders and managers have a strong vision for the future of the setting.

For example, they have plans to invest in a range of resources to develop the provision further to support children's experiences. They plan to develop children's imagination and curiosity through forest school and develop children's language skills further through support from the local authority.The manager ensures child ratios are maintained to keep children safe.

However, ongoing staffing challenges mean that children are not always looked after by staff who know them best. This means that although staff are very kind and caring they do not always have a detailed understanding of children's specific learning needs. As such, opportunities to support and extend learning for individual children are missed.

The manager leads by example. She is a positive role model who spends time in the different rooms. She uses these opportunities to help staff develop their teaching skills further.

Staff comment that they benefit from wider staff meetings to enhance their knowledge. They report that she is very accessible, and they have seen improvements since her appointment.Children are involved in a range of opportunities to develop their appreciation of the natural world.

For example, they grow their own vegetables and look after animals. They engage excitedly when chopping different vegetables to try and choose which ones to feed the rabbits.Although staff greet children warmly, the individual needs of children are not always met, as they do not consistently use information obtained from parents when children start.

For example, staff do not always know about the languages that children speak at home. However, parents report that their children are happy to attend and can talk about progress they have made.Staff model good manners and are calm and patient in their approach.

They offer children cuddles and use gentle words to soothe them. This supports children's behaviour. For example, at lunchtime, children sit and eat lunch together, listening and behaving well.

Children play well together, eagerly trying on different dressing-up clothes and role playing. Adults support their choices and help them to get dressed. Although children are encouraged to wash their hands and go to the toilet independently, adults are sometimes too quick to wipe children's noses for them and pull up their sleeves.

Children enjoy the outdoors, where they excitedly explore the wooden climbing frame and look forward to circle time in the woods. They confidently explain how they keep themselves safe outside, such as waiting their turn for the trampoline and checking the logs before they climb on them.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The premises are safe and secure for children. The manager fully understands her roles and responsibilities for recruiting new staff safely. She undertakes thorough recruitment checks to ensure suitability.

Staff know how to identify signs of abuse and what to do if they have concerns about children's welfare. Staff have regular safeguarding updates to ensure that they know about safeguarding issues. They can identify what to do in a range of safeguarding scenarios and know how to protect children from harm.

Children learn how to keep themselves safe. They are involved in risk assessing play equipment and outdoor activities.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nuse the information gathered when children join, including for children who speak English as an additional language, to help them settle and begin learning from the start review staff deployment to ensure children spend as much time as possible with staff who know them best, ensuring that there is a more consistent approach to meeting their learning needs nensure staff consistently take the time to teach children how to do things for themselves, to support their independence.