The Learning Tree Nursery & Kids Club

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The indoor and outdoor environments are vibrant and highly stimulating.

They are thoughtfully designed and boast an impressive array of resources. Children are self-assured and confidently explore their surroundings, making decisions about their play. They have strong bonds with staff and demonstrate that they feel safe and secure.

Staff plan a wide range of exciting activities to build on what children already know and can do. For instance, they set up challenging obstacle courses and help children to travel over and under apparatus. Staff model their own enthusiasm and encourage children to cheer each other along..../>
They teach children how to operate stopwatches, and help them to identify numbers and record their times. Children listen with interest as staff read stories. They are resourceful and create pictures and models, using craft materials.

Staff promote children's language and communication skills well. They speak clearly and slowly, and engage children in meaningful discussions. Children have a positive approach to their learning and develop many key skills in readiness for school.

For example, they work well together, listening to staff's instructions and copying their actions as they play parachute games. Children's behaviour is good overall. However, occasionally, staff miss opportunities to help children to resolve their own disagreements and understand their feelings and those of others.

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

There is a strong culture of partnership working, which is evident throughout the setting. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive good levels of support. Staff work closely with other professionals to implement agreed interventions and support children to make good progress.

Very effective procedures are in place to share information with other settings that children attend, to promote continuity of learning.Partnerships with parents are excellent. Staff use a variety of very effective methods to involve parents in all aspects of their child's learning and care.

For example, they provide detailed daily feedback about children's achievements, through discussions and online learning journals. Staff offer parents ideas about ways that they can support their child's learning at home. They provide a library service and send home activities focused on helping children to achieve their next steps in learning.

Parents provide very complimentary feedback. They praise the dedication of staff and say that they are kept very well informed of children's progress.Children are independent and develop good self-care skills.

For example, they choose when they would like to have a snack and confidently help themselves to fruit and drinks. Staff sit with children at lunchtime, showing them how to use cutlery correctly. They support children to clear their crockery away and tidy up after lunch.

Staff monitor children's progress well to plan for their future learning. They are supportive and skilfully play alongside children to guide and extend their play. For example, staff take children into a quiet area and present them with an interesting box and ask, 'What is in the box?' Children are curious and keen to see what is inside.

Staff help children to explore and name objects. They introduce descriptive words and model language to support children's developing speech well.Children are motivated and eager to participate in planned activities.

They develop good mathematical skills. Staff support them to build structures and compare the length of tubes and planks. They sing number rhymes and use finger puppets to help children to count and calculate.

Staff ask a good range of questions to encourage children to work things out and solve simple problems independently.The management team has some effective procedures in place to supervise staff and monitor their practice. However, they do not use these systems as well as possible to identify staff training needs and provide them with targeted guidance and support.

Healthy lifestyles are promoted well. Children are physically active and benefit from unrestricted access to a super outdoor area. Staff help children to grow carrots, potatoes and spring onions.

They talk to children about healthy eating and encourage them to sample their home-grown produce to endorse healthy eating.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Robust recruitment procedures are in place to ensure that staff are thoroughly checked and vetted.

Staff complete regular refresher training to make sure that their knowledge of child protection procedures is up to date. They recognise the signs of abuse and neglect. Staff know the protocols to follow if they have any concerns about children's welfare or practice in the setting.

They supervise children well and teach them how to stay safe. For example, children learn how to carry scissors correctly, to minimise the risk of accidents.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: develop improved strategies to support children to resolve their own disagreements and understand their feelings and those of others nextend systems to monitor staff's practice and provide them with more targeted guidance and support to develop teaching to an even higher level.

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