Fairfield Education & Childcare

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The well-qualified team members work together extremely well.

This helps practitioners to establish highly consistent routines that form the basis of the welcoming and well-organised provision. They demonstrate their teamwork when three- and four-year-old children gather in two groups. The two group leaders synchronise their singing of the greeting song.

This promotes children's concentration and thinking, because the conversations in each group are not interrupted by the other group's singing. The focus on promoting children's communication and language is a particular strength of the provision. For example, practitio...ners make effective use of a language screening tool to assess children's current attainment.

This helps them to accurately identify next steps for learning that challenge children and promote their good progress.The predictable routines and clear expectations for their conduct help all children to feel safe and secure. Children who are new to the provision settle in quickly.

Parents say that children are happy and look forward to attending. Practitioners are unfailingly patient, polite and friendly. Children in the pre-school and out-of-school club copy them and demonstrate considerate behaviour towards each other.

Children's behaviour and attitudes to learning are highly positive.

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

The experienced managers take account of everyone's ideas when they evaluate the provision and plan improvements. For example, at a staff meeting, managers and practitioners worked together to write a 'vision and values' statement.

They built on this by displaying the statement for parents, alongside well-chosen photographs of children playing and learning. This helps everyone to understand the underlying purpose and ambition of the provision.Children are visibly eager to participate in activities.

They become deeply involved in learning that they enjoy. For example, two-, three- and four-year-old children join in readily with a dance and movement session. Practitioners know that the session will help children of all ages to develop balance and coordination.

Children know that they are going to have lots of fun. They work hard to copy practitioners and each other. For instance, they stand on one foot so they can stamp in time to the music with the other.

Managers use additional funding productively. For example, they pay for a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter to support the inclusion of children with hearing impairment. Furthermore, practitioners train to use BSL and incorporate it into their teaching.

This is exemplified at group time. Children ably demonstrate BSL for the initial letters of everyone's name. This helps to promote children's auditory memory and discrimination of sounds.

They also learn that there are different ways to communicate.Practitioners provide effective support for children who speak English as an additional language. For example, practitioners often repeat single words and short phrases during activities and routines.

This helps children to acquire the words that they need to communicate in English. Practitioners demonstrate empathy. They make sure that children are fully included and know what to do.

Managers often work alongside practitioners and provide ongoing coaching and support. They hold supervision meetings that recognise practitioners' strengths and achievements. Practitioners feel valued and encouraged by the managers.

However, on occasion, the next steps for practitioners' development do not focus sharply enough on raising the quality of teaching to exceptional levels.Children's early literacy is promoted well. For instance, children find their name card and attach it to a board to register their attendance.

Then children choose from a list of five greetings. For instance, children point at the symbol and word for a 'fist bump' and so the practitioner at the door greets them with a fist bump. This helps children to learn that print carries meaning.

Practitioners demonstrate their own enjoyment of reading when they read stories to children. Their reading is engaging and expressive. Practitioners' questions help children to recall and think about the people and events in stories.

Children become independent and self-assured as they grow. This helps them to be ready to start school. For example, two-year-old children confidently seek out practitioners to ask for help to hang up their coats.

Older children change their shoes ready for dancing. Children who attend the out-of-school club quickly gather their belongings when it is time to go to school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Managers stay up to date with legal requirements for safeguarding. They know and understand the local procedures for child protection. Managers train practitioners to implement the provision's safeguarding policy.

Practitioners know how to report concerns that children are at risk of abuse. Practitioners take sensible steps to minimise hazards to children. For example, they teach out-of-school children to stay close to practitioners when they cross the busy playground to their classrooms.

The recruitment of practitioners is safely managed. Furthermore, a well-developed induction programme helps new employees to fully understand their responsibility to promote children's welfare.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: make better use of systems for performance management, so that the next steps for the professional development of practitioners show really precisely what they need to do to improve.

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