Abbeymead Under Fives Playgroup

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Parents speak with confidence about the quality of care their children receive. Staff listen to parents and this in turn benefits the children who attend. There is a sense of community at this setting.

Staff, parents and children work together in a harmonious way. Children settle very well. Staff support children's emotional well-being well.

This means children are very happy at this setting. Staff are good role models for the children who attend. Staff value and promote children's good behaviour.

Recent changes in governance and leadership mean this setting is on a journey. The new manager has a strong vision... for where she would like the setting to go. She is very well supported in this by her team, who respond to change in a positive way.

This is because they can see how it benefits the children and families who use this setting. Children are well prepared for school. Assessment is focused and reflects children's interests.

Children with additional learning needs are very well supported. The special educational needs coordinator shares her excellent understanding in this area with staff and parents. This means those children with more-complex needs are very well cared for and make good progress.

Children's individual interests inform the setting's planning. This means learning is spontaneous and meaningful. On occasions, learning and knowledge are not always revisited.

This means what children know already is not always stretched and revisited.

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

Children's language skills are well supported. Those with a delay in this area are particularly well supported and make good progress.

Effective strategies support further learning at home. For example, the setting is keen for children and parents to share story times together. Stay-and-lay sessions support this, and staff and parents read to the children.

A lending library is also available for parents and children.The needs of different children are well met. This is because staff take time to get to know the children and their families.

Effective observations of children's interests then inform interesting activities, such as visits to the Moon Exhibition at Gloucester Cathedral. This provides opportunities for discussion at show and tell. The staff followed this with the story 'A Way Back Home' and talked about going to the moon.

They sang songs and used props to extend this further.Children are happy, safe and settled at this setting. Staff collect information from parents to support this.

Home visits further support this partnership. This means parents feel very confident about leaving children in the care of the setting. Strong relationships exist between parents and the setting from the outset.

Parents' views are important to staff at this setting.The leadership and management at this setting are good. The manager has a clear vision and this drives the setting forward.

The manager can self-evaluate areas of strength and areas for improvement. This means she is effective in matching the needs of the setting with training needs of staff. Staff hold the manager in high regard.

The manager is a positive role model for staff. She supports the professional development of her staff.The setting has a robust key-person system.

Parents know who their child's key person is and their role in supporting their child. Children's well-being flourishes with the strong emotional attachment to staff. Staff encourage children to understand who they are and what makes them unique.

This gives the children a sense of self and promotes their self-esteem. Staff can talk with confidence about the children and their development.Children make good progress across all areas of the curriculum, and learn in a variety of ways.

Staff find different ways to support children's early identification in initial sounds. For example, children's name tags all have a picture representing the same initial sound. This means children link their name to a sound.

The setting is an active part of its community. For example, it often visits the nearby church and makes further links through fundraising schemes and scavenger hunts. This helps children make links in their local environment.

This also raises money for the setting to buy new resources. There is scope to enhance this further to extend children's knowledge of communities and people beyond their immediate experience.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Steps are in place to keep children safe. Staff know the signs of abuse; robust measures are in place to ensure staff know when and how to make a referral. Staff understand who to go to when they have concerns.

They know how to escalate this when needed. Staff can talk about some of the signs of female genital mutilation and the 'Prevent' duty guidance. Documentation supports this, and policies and procedures are robust and in place.

The manager and governance ensure the safety of children who attend the setting. Checks are undertaken to ensure the children are safe at this setting.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nincrease the diversity of experiences and resources, to help children to challenge stereotypes and learn about different cultures build further on what children know, to embed new concepts in their learning.