Bishop Cornish Education Centre

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are immensely happy and confident at the setting. They are welcomed in by attentive and kind members of staff who know them very well. Children's individual needs to help them settle are met immediately on arrival and this helps children feel safe and secure.

Expectations of children's behaviour are consistently high from all members of staff. Secure strategies to promote children's understanding and knowledge of their feelings are embedded into practice. Children refer to the 'bucket filler' book and actively try to fill each other's buckets up during the day.

Parents comment on the positive impact this initi...ative has had on their children's behaviour at home. Clear, calm and positive communication is a strength at the setting. Staff name children's emotions consistently throughout the day, and children identify their behaviours and communicate how they are feeling to staff and friends.

For example, when a child falls over, he describes his feelings as being 'all shaken up'. He is sensitively supported by a staff member and another child as they all take deep breaths and calm their 'shaken-up' feelings. Children's emotions are managed excellently and, as a result, children learn to be resilient and quickly move on from any setbacks.

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

Children respond instantly to the sound of the recorder being played when it is time to go down the slide and gather for 'circle time'. They know the routines well. Children access inspiring activities across the early years foundation stage.

They make thyme and rosemary herb potions and play dough, and count and colour match. They use various tools to paint with water and go on a 'spring hunt' in the garden.Children eat nutritious snacks such as poppadoms and sugar snap peas and describe the snapping sound the peas make when split.

Children listen for sounds and eagerly reply to open-ended questions.Independence skills are nurtured at the setting. Children are supported to give everything 'a go' and are assisted when needed.

For example, children learn how to zip their coats up and put their wellies on, and they frequently wash their hands. They access the indoor and free-flow decked area with confidence. Daily visits to other areas, including the adjoining garden and woods, offer a vast array of challenge and intrigue for the children.

Children learn about being safe and managing risk at the setting. They repeat a rhyme out loud about keeping the 'play in the tray' when using scissors. They are encouraged to risk assess when climbing in the woods, ducking through the tunnel or handling animals.

Parents are highly complimentary about the small staff team and the progress their children have made since attending. Staff work in collaboration with families on their children's learning by sharing next steps through an online program, holding termly parents' evenings and providing information sessions on mathematics and literacy. Parents share their children's achievements and experiences frequently, and these are celebrated with the children.

Home visits for all children before they start promote well-being and provide a smooth transition. Staff support the needs of children with special educational needs with passion and dedication. Secure partnerships are in place with outside professionals to support progress.

However, the setting is yet to secure partnerships with other settings that children attend.Children learn about their local community from frequent visitors including a vicar and the police. They locate where they live on a large display, identify local landmarks and talk about distance and time.

Children learn about the wider world by sharing photographs from different countries they have visited on holiday and festivals such as Diwali. They successfully learn about their uniqueness and show tolerance and respect for one another's differences.The manager leads a reflective team that is committed to achieving the best outcomes for children.

Training is cascaded effectively, including the recent 'Emotional First Aid'. While the manager provides regular support to staff to encourage professional discussion and promote the interests of children, support for the manager to reflect on her own personal development and practice is less frequent.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff members have a secure understanding of how to keep children safe, and they attend training regularly. They are all able to identify signs and symptoms of abuse and share an awareness of wider issues including female genital mutilation and the 'Prevent' duty. Clear procedures are in place for all staff to act on any concerns, and safeguarding information is readily available.

Use of the internet is appropriately accessed when needed and always supervised. Risk assessments of the indoor and outdoor environments are robust, and the outdoor play areas are covered by closed-circuit television. Key staff are first aid qualified.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nexplore ways to work in partnership with other settings children attend to further extend children's development build on the supervision arrangements to increase the support given to the manager to reflect on and further develop her own practice

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