Playdays Preschool Holiday And After School Club

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and secure at this setting and develop positive attachments with key persons. Staff are sensitive to children's individual needs and involve them in tasks on arrival, such as choosing and preparing snack together, to help engage them.

Children enjoy such responsibilities and begin to grow in confidence. This helps them settle quickly. Staff work hard to create a sense of community and belonging within the provision.

For instance, they foster caring relationships between children of different ages well. This is evident when older children proudly show younger children how magnets stick together and en...courage them to 'have a go'. Additional funding, for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those receiving the early years pupil premium, is used well to enhance the experiences of all children.

Staff consider children's interests, and what they need to know, to successfully make progress in their learning. For example, resources to improve the outdoor construction area support children to develop social skills and work together as a team. New initiatives to promote positive behaviour acknowledge children's kindness, and improvements in behaviour are shared with parents successfully.

This helps build continuity between home and the setting and encourage a positive respectful environment.

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

Since the previous inspection, the manager has strengthened self-evaluation processes to identify areas for improvement. She has implemented strategies that have a positive impact on children's overall well-being and raise the standard of the provision effectively.

For example, all staff have completed behaviour management training and have a shared vision for how to support children to manage their own feelings and behaviour well. The manager reflects on how effectively previous planning informs a curriculum that challenges children. Recent changes to planning reduce staff workload to ensure that all documentation is necessary and purposeful.

Staff spend more time engaging children in meaningful interactions. Overall, this has a positive impact on behaviour, attitudes and children's communication skills.Staff successfully promote a love of storytelling and encourage children to explore books and recall familiar fairy tales.

For instance, children use puppets to share their own version of 'Little Red Riding Hood' at the free-standing theatre. This helps develop children's confidence and early literacy skills well.Staff are kind and caring.

They respond to children's basic needs effectively. However, some staff miss opportunities to help children manage their own personal needs independently. For example, staff do not consistently teach children how to put on their own coat, attempt to master zips or help them understand when they require a tissue for their nose.

Children enjoy physical activities and have opportunities to practise a variety of challenging skills. For example, children learn to pedal tricycles, leap between and balance on wooden logs, and shoot a ball through a hoop. Staff talk to children about how to use their body and help them develop a good overall understanding of why it is important to make healthy choices.

Occasionally, staff do not respond to situations well enough to enhance children's learning. For instance, resources are not always fully prepared for planned activities and staff do not teach children how to access these resources independently to be able to lead their own play. Sometimes, children are waiting for sessions to begin.

This can lead to children losing interest in activities before they have begun and not being highly engaged.Children enjoy learning about the world around them and the habitat of the large African snails they are caring for. Staff remind children to use kind hands and to patiently wait for their turn for the snail to crawl over their hand.

Children understand boundaries and expectations and respond accordingly.Staff follow children's lead well and play music for them to dance to when requested. Children move with confidence.

Staff understand children are unique and may choose to participate in a variety of ways. For example, some children use the camera and capture photographs of the dancing. This enhances children's imaginations and fosters an enjoyment of expressing themselves in creative ways.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a secure knowledge of safeguarding policies and procedures. They are alert to signs that a child may be at risk of extreme views and ideas and know how to escalate potential concerns regarding a child's welfare.

The provider follows safer recruitment procedures to ensure the suitability of staff working with children. Staff are vigilant to potential risks and act swiftly to remove hazards to ensure children's safety and well-being.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nensure that all staff consistently support children to manage their own personal needs independently nensure that resources and learning experiences are fully prepared for children prior to them starting, to help keep children motivated and highly engaged.

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