Lollipops

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children actively engage in their learning from the moment they arrive. They enthusiastically participate in a well-sequenced and varied curriculum that offers them interesting experiences.

Children are extremely proud of their radishes that they have picked from their newly introduced allotment. Staff respond with praise and enthusiasm and say, 'Wow, that is fantastic.' This supports children to be inquisitive and confident learners, fostering curiosity and developing their abilities.

Children are happy and thoroughly enjoy their time at this setting. The dedicated and passionate staff team warmly embraces both childr...en and their families, creating an environment that is both welcoming and supportive. Children have formed secure, trusting bonds with their key person, providing children with a sense of security.

As a result, children's behaviour is excellent, and they show a good awareness of routines and boundaries. For example, children show patience during 'rolling' snack and understand they have to wait if the table is full.Parents report positively on the sharing of information and know their children's next steps in learning.

They comment on how their children have flourished, particularly in their communication and language development. Parents praise the staff's warmth, dedication and approachability. The manager and staff understand the importance of building trust with parents to provide consistent support for children.

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

The manager and staff implement a curriculum to suit children's individual needs. For example, staff use children's interests to set up a baby role-play area to support children who are new to the setting. This develops children's motivation to learn as well as builds good relationships with staff.

Staff identify next steps in learning well from children's starting points, providing children with a secure foundation for learning.Staff use observation and assessment well to gather children's interests and to identify gaps in learning swiftly. Staff initiate small-group times and one-to-one support to provide targeted learning to all children.

Children show excitement and curiosity during these times. For example, they have fun using different-sized containers, pouring water from one pot to another. However, there are instances when staff do not always take advantage of every opportunity to further enhance children's mathematical learning.

The passionate manager and staff team have a strong understanding of how children's language develops. They use simplified words for younger children and extend older children's vocabulary by using complex words and questions. For example, children enjoy making play dough, and staff repeat and introduce new vocabulary, such as 'sieve' and 'squishy'.

This encourages children's use of language. Staff use an effective monitoring tool to ensure children's communication and language are progressing.Staff are incredibly intuitive to children's emotional needs and realise the importance of this.

The manager has used funding to employ an emotional literacy support assistant (ELSA). She spends quality time with children to help them develop self-regulation skills. The ELSA uses various strategies, such as 'emotion pebbles', to encourage children to openly discuss how they are feeling.

This has a valuable impact on their future learning.Children develop good physical skills through regular indoor and outdoor activities. While outside, they use mark-making tools to further strengthen their small hand muscles.

Younger and older children engage in active indoor play, safely climbing up onto the slide and riding bicycles. Children show a good understanding of care practices, such as washing hands before eating and attending to their own toileting needs confidently, supporting their independence and self-motivation.The manager and staff have high aspirations for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

They work closely with outside professionals and parents. For example, the manager and special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) make prompt referrals so that children receive timely interventions. As a result, children access a curriculum that is designed to meet their needs, providing them with positive learning experiences that support their overall learning.

There are effective procedures in place to ensure the ongoing professional development of the long-serving staff team. For example, staff have recently attended training on the 'attention bucket', and this is now embedded every day to support children's focus and attention. The manager has recently attended training based around communication.

She has disseminated this to staff, and as a result, staff show a deeper understanding of children's communication development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff demonstrate a strong understanding of their duty to protect children and report any concerns they may have about a child's well-being.

All staff have up-to-date and in-depth knowledge of safeguarding issues and refresh their training regularly. Staff are very confident in identifying indicators of when children may be exposed to county lines or extreme views or behaviours. The environment is safe and secure for all children.

The manager and staff ensure that children learn about managing their own safety. For example, children enjoy riding bicycles while staff role model using traffic lights and stop signs, supporting their understanding of road safety.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen staff awareness in recognising opportunities to fully extend children's mathematical learning and development during their interactions with children.