Smarty Pants @ Lye Limited

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy their time at the nursery. They enjoy warm relationships with staff and happily run up to them to offer them a hug.

Staff carefully consider how to support children's emotional security. New children seek comfort in quieter areas where they can adjust to the environment in their own time and explore when they have the confidence to do so. Pre-school children use a visual timetable to help then to sequence events in their day and know when parents will return to take them home.

Children gain independence and have a clear understanding of the routines and staff expectations. They learn to share resources a...nd take turns as they play harmoniously with their friends. Staff help children learn to successfully manage their feelings and behaviour.

Children show good levels of emotional control in situations that cause them frustration. Children progress well from their individual starting points, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They are well prepared for school.

Staff support children's language development skilfully. Children who speak English as an additional language gain confident communication skills. Pre-school children engage eagerly in conversations.

They show interest as they ask questions and initiate discussions with friends and adults. Younger children learn new words and gain the skills to express their needs and wishes clearly.

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

Leaders invest well in the staff team and provide them with effective professional development opportunities to help them to build on their already good skills.

They offer staff who are new to the profession quality guidance and coaching to help them gain confidence in their roles. Recent training has helped staff to identify and use further effective strategies to support the behaviour management of two-year-old children.Staff have developed effective partnerships with parents to engage them in their child's learning and development.

This helps to support children's continued progress at home. For example, many children now enjoy regular visits to the library with their parents, having registered with the local library as part of the weekly visits there with staff.Self-evaluation is effective.

The manager monitors the quality of teaching and learning well. She works closely with staff to identify any gaps in children's learning and to implement effective interventions that help children to catch up in their development. They work successfully with other professionals involved in children's care.

However, during some large-group activities, staff do not consider fully how to make adjustments to target the interests of children at different stages of development.Overall, staff make good use of their observations of children and partnership working to plan well for each child's needs. Two-year-old children respond well to the various activities that challenge their thinking.

However, staff working in the pre-school room have not identified how some activities can be further enhanced to offer children the highest level of challenge.Staff provide children with a good range of activities that help them to practise their physical skills. Two-year-old children focus well as they break off small pieces of dough to fill containers.

Pre-school children explore their sense of adventure as they use different ways of travelling up and down a steep grassy bank. They balance carefully as they jump onto blocks as part of an obstacle course.Children eagerly practise their early literacy skills.

They enjoy making marks in foam and writing on whiteboards. They know that marks communicate meaning and talk to their friends about their drawings. Children enjoy listening to stories.

They listen attentively and show a good understanding of characters and events as they recall details. Staff help older children to recognise their names and to gain an awareness of sounds in words. Children develop their mathematical understanding well.

They compare the size of bubbles and quickly count them before they burst.Staff support children's understanding of the world effectively. Two-year-old children investigate how vehicles travel down various ramps at different speeds.

Children learn about cultural diversity. This includes the various ways that people dress and celebrate, and the different meals that people like to eat.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and staff have a strong knowledge of child protection. They are alert to the signs and symptoms of abuse, including those linked to wider safeguarding issues. They know about the referral process if they have a concern about a child.

Clear procedures are in place for managing allegations about staff. Leaders provide staff with regular training to ensure that they have up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding matters. Staff make careful and rigorous risk assessments of the premises and for outings.

They take appropriate and effective measures to minimise any hazards to protect children from harm. Leaders implement safer recruitment procedures to check the suitability of all staff.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nidentify where adjustments can be made to some large-group activities to further accommodate the interests of children at different stages of development review and enhance the indoor learning environment for pre-school children to extend further the level of challenge provided to them.