Hutton Cranswick Playgroup

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children confidently leave their parents as they enter the setting.

They greet their friends enthusiastically and join in the routines of the day, which they know and understand well. Children enjoy their time with familiar staff, who are nurturing and kind towards them. This helps children to feel safe and secure in their care.

Children do not yet benefit from an embedded curriculum. As a result, staff do not have a common understanding of what they want children to learn. Although staff observe children as they play and know their next steps in learning, they do not always extend children's knowledge and skills.
.../>This means that although children make some progress, they are not fully supported to make the best possible progress that they can. For example, when using crafts to make pictures, children are not encouraged to use their imaginations or creativity as staff carry out most of the tasks, including cutting out shapes and spreading glue. Children develop their physical skills well as they balance along beams, navigate their bicycles around strategically placed cones and crawl through tunnels.

However, children do not always understand how to keep themselves safe. For example, children climb on top of the cars and tunnel without understanding the risks this can entail to their safety.

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

Leaders and staff have addressed some of the identified weaknesses.

For example, they have created a new curriculum that is more suitable and achievable for the age and stage of children attending. However, they are yet to ensure that the curriculum is embedded into practice and that staff have a secure understanding of the curriculum aims of what they want children to learn and why.Children develop some independence.

They select the resources that interest them, select and serve their snacks and pour their own drinks. However, children do not always receive the support they need to learn to do things for themselves. For example, they are not encouraged to use scissors to cut up bubble wrap and cut out shapes themselves.

This does not help children to learn, practise and develop these skills for themselves.Children do not always understand the risks involved in their play. For example, when children climb or push themselves against moving furniture, staff do not consistently help them to learn how best to keep themselves safe.

Staff actively listen to what children say and ask open questions. They provide ample time for children to think and respond with their answers. Children recall their recent learning of animals as they name the animal and what their babies are called.

Their learning is strengthened as they join in with the story, 'Oh Dear'. Children make effective progress in their speech and language skills.Children develop their fine motor skills well in preparation for writing.

Children take part in an activity linked to their current learning of animals. For example, children roll play dough in their fingers until it is small enough to carefully slot into holes made in animal faces using a pincer grip. As children feed the animal faces, they talk about how the farmer feeds his animals.

Children learn about the world around them.Children use mathematical language throughout their play. For example, they say how many legs the sheep have.

Children count how many children are waiting for the scooters before them. They describe the short or long planks on the obstacle course. Children learn mathematics through their play.

Children learn about good oral health. They are encouraged to brush their teeth after mealtimes. In addition, children access resources to practise their skills and are provided with healthy and nutritious snacks.

This supports good health practices.Staff are working with external agencies to ensure that they are making any necessary improvements to practice. Leaders are providing staff with training opportunities to make sure that their skills and knowledge enhance children's learning outcomes.

Staff work alongside parents as part of the setting's management team. Information is regularly shared with parents regarding their child's time at the setting. Staff discuss children's developmental progress with parents and how they can support their child's learning at home.

The special educational needs coordinator works closely with each child's key person, family and agencies to ensure that they use any additional funding to implement timely interventions and targeted support to meet their development needs.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.All staff have a good understanding about their roles and responsibilities to keep children safe.

They can identify the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child could be at risk of harm, including radicalisation and extremism. Staff are confident in who they need to contact if they have any safeguarding concerns regarding a child or adult. Recent changes to how they record and identify children's welfare has strengthened their procedures to help staff quickly identify any potential child protection concerns.

All staff hold a paediatric first-aid certificate. The premises are well maintained, safe and secure.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nensure that the curriculum is embedded into practice and staff are clear about what they want children to learn and why provide children with the skills and knowledge to be independently creative, to ensure that they make the best possible progress in their learning and development teach children to understand and calculate the risks in their play to enable them to understand how to keep themselves safe.