Happy Feet Preschool and Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Staff have warm and caring relationships with children. They offer them reassurance and comfort when required. This helps children settle quickly when they arrive and feel safe and secure.

The manager ensures that children play safely and are cared for by enough qualified staff. She has made changes to the early years curriculum to focus on meeting the needs of the children who currently attend. These changes aim to raise the quality of the provision but are not yet fully embedded and implemented consistently by all staff.

The quality of teaching varies, and some staff offer children better support than others. Support fo...r children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is strong. There are effective systems for identifying vulnerable and disadvantaged children and working in partnership with parents and other agencies to ensure they receive the support they require.

All children are generally happy at the setting. They show they want to learn and play. However, activities do not always build well enough on what children already know and can do, and not all children make the progress that they are capable of making.

Staff do not consistently provide children with experiences that ignite their curiosity or sustain their engagement. Therefore, children quickly lose interest and flit from one activity to another. Despite good intentions, staff struggle to target their teaching effectively to help children begin to manage their emotions and engage in purposeful play.

At times, this can lead to a disorderly environment. Overall, children behave well but do not always receive consistent support to help them understand what is expected of them while at the setting.

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

Managers are implementing systems to monitor the provision closely.

They are committed to improving standards. However, some staff do not receive enough support and coaching to help them develop their practice and understand their roles. Staff are aware of children's interests, but they do not focus on what they want children to learn from some activities when children take part.

This affects how quickly children progress in their learning.Children enjoy singing sessions and story times. They join in with the actions to the well-known songs and rhymes, building their vocabulary.

However, staff do not focus effectively on teaching children the skills and language they need to begin to regulate their own behaviour. For example, children are not taught effectively to take turns and share. This means that disruptive behaviours continue.

Therefore, quieter children do not benefit from some activities.Children thoroughly enjoy practising their physical skills. They run, jump, climb and enjoy games with staff outside in the garden.

Staff teach them about healthy practices, such as having a drink after exercise. Staff supervise children closely outside and help them learn how to keep themselves safe.Children have access to a range of different resources.

They show initial enthusiasm for what is on offer. However, staff do not help children to use resources purposefully. As a result, children's initial enthusiasm is not maintained, and they quickly lose interest.

This does not encourage children's ability to focus well on meaningful learning for any significant length of time.Staff do not provide children with consistent opportunities to explore and learn about early mathematics. The programme for teaching is not matched closely enough to the age and stage of the children attending.

For instance, children do not benefit from hearing staff use mathematical language as they play and learn.Staff feel well supported by managers and there are a wide range of well-being and staff incentives in place. Managers model effective practice during care and learning interactions with children.

However, staff do not consistently follow this lead. The manager has recently commissioned additional training to complement the existing supervision, coaching and support available.The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works particularly well with other professionals when supporting children with SEND.

This enables early identification, as well as support plans to be implemented without delay. Leaders use additional funding children receive successfully and specifically to enhance the outcomes for individuals. For example, children access extra-curricular music and rhyme time and yoga sessions.

Partnerships with parents are a strength of the setting. The manager and staff build supportive relationships with parents. The use of additional funding is discussed with parents and agreed to benefit the child's learning and development in the setting.

Parents speak highly of the staff. They especially appreciate the support they receive to engage with other professionals to find additional help for their children when needed. The setting's approach to tailoring settling-in sessions to meet the individual needs of each child helps develop strong parent partnerships and key-person relationships.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interest first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen the arrangements for staff coaching and support to further improve their understanding of how to deliver an effective curriculum that builds securely on what individual children are ready to learn next support staff to develop a consistent approach to managing children's behaviour to help children learn what is expected of them and promote their engagement in learning more effectively nimprove staff's skills in promoting children's early mathematical development.