Mice To Meet You Playgroup

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff provide children with a nurturing environment. Every child is welcomed and valued for their individuality.

Children make excellent relationships with staff and strong friendships with each other. They demonstrate high levels of emotional security. Children are extremely happy and feel safe in the playgroup.

They are sensitive to the needs of others and demonstrate a helpful attitude towards staff and each other. They behave very well. Staff plan a broad and varied curriculum across all areas of learning.

This is designed to provide children with exciting opportunities that help to prepare them for future... success. Staff know what they want children to learn. They plan appropriate and challenging activities to help them to move onto the next stage in their learning.

Children explore a wealth of opportunities to develop early literacy skills. For example, they make marks in flour with paintbrushes, use chopsticks and pick up fruit with tongs. This helps children to develop good small-muscle control in readiness for writing.

Staff provide children with a wide range of resources and activities to help them to learn about people and communities beyond their own experience. They have high aspirations for children. Staff skilfully interact with them during activities to extend their learning.

All children progress well from their starting points, regardless of their circumstances. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and children who speak English as an additional language. Parents comment, 'Staff are like an extended family' and that children 'come on in leaps and bounds'.

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

The well-qualified staff are particularly skilled at helping children to develop their speech and language skills. They tell stories with great enthusiasm. This keeps children interested and excited.

Staff introduce new words, such as 'squirt' and 'tentacles', and explain how jellyfish use their sting. All children develop very good communication and language skills. This includes those with SEND and those who speak English as an additional language.

Children spend long periods of time investigating different ways of using materials. They show awe and wonder as they listen to the sounds that rice makes when staff sprinkle it into metal containers. Children use the rice to fill and empty containers and take it to the play kitchen to 'cook'.

However, sometimes, resources are not organised to maximum effect to help children to extend their own play and learning. For example, when children need a plate to put 'food' on, they have to look hard to find one.Staff teach children the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle and good hygiene routines.

Children are provided with a wide range of healthy and nutritious snacks, including fruit, crumpets and porridge. They learn how to brush their teeth properly and the importance of dental hygiene. This has a positive impact on children's health and well-being.

Children benefit from meaningful experiences that cover all areas of learning. Staff have a good understanding of the different ways in which children learn. They use information from observations of children's learning to identify purposeful next steps in their learning.

Children make good progress. However, occasionally, staff interrupt children's learning and engagement to start daily routines, such as setting the tables at lunchtime.The manager and staff closely monitor children's progress.

This helps them to identify any gaps in children's learning and seek external intervention, if needed.The manager invests well in the staff and has a high regard for their welfare. She uses supervision meetings to encourage staff to consider their own well-being and mental health.

A well-targeted programme of professional development helps staff to extend their knowledge and skills.Self-evaluation is effective and includes the views of parents and children. Staff focus on areas for development to help to improve learning outcomes for children.

Exciting plans are in place to enhance the outdoor environment to help to extend children's physical development.Partnerships with parents, other early years providers and external professionals are excellent. This helps to promote good consistency and continuity of care and learning.

Children are well supported as they transfer to school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff undertake regular safeguarding training and have a good understanding of how to protect children from harm.

They confidently describe the action to take should they have concerns about the safety or welfare of a child. The manager has robust systems in place for recruitment and induction to ensure the ongoing suitability of the staff team. Staff are extremely vigilant regarding children's safety.

They undertake rigorous risk assessments to ensure children stay safe. The provider ensures that the premises are secure so that children cannot leave unsupervised and unwanted visitors cannot gain access.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: consider the organisation of routines so that they do not interrupt children's learning opportunities review the organisation and availability of resources to help children to independently extend their own play and learning.