Harmony Creche at account3

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

All children are valued and respected in this welcoming and inclusive creche. Children show that they are happy, secure and that they enjoy attending.

They build good attachments with the staff and show high levels of emotional well-being. Staff know children extremely well and have high expectations for their learning and behaviour. Staff are positive role models and teach children about kindness, sharing and turn taking in an effective way.

As a result, children play together in a positive manner and behave very well. Many children that attend speak English as an additional language and staff skillfully support them ...to learn new words and vocabulary as they play. Staff also use lots of visual aids and props to help to develop children's understanding.

As a result, children make good progress and enjoy the wide array of activities on offer.Children enjoy washing dolls in water and staff support them to effectively identify the different body parts and learn new words, such as 'bubbles' and 'splash'. Children like developing their imagination as they pretend to cook in the role-play area.

Staff actively help children to explore different vegetables, fruits and herbs and discuss which foods are healthy. Furthermore, children show good engagement as they practise drawing and writing on black board screens. As they explore, staff encourage the children to discuss the sounds in their name.

This helps to develop the children's early literacy skills.

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

Staff create an attractive and stimulating learning environment for the children to explore. Staff are knowledgeable about children's developmental needs and plan a varied curriculum for the children.

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive good support to help them move forward in their learning. Staff work in close partnership with other early years professionals to create personal learning plans for children that require extra help and regularly review their progress together. This helps to ensure good levels of consistency across children's learning.

Children receive good support to develop their understanding of mathematics. For instance, they frequently sing counting songs, such as '5 Little Ducks', and are encouraged to use mathematical language as they play with bubbles and sand. Staff effectively guide children to discuss different sizes, colours and make comparisons, such as empty and full.

Children have frequent opportunities to develop their physical skills. For instance, they enjoy climbing, balancing and running at the nearby park. This helps to develop their coordination, strength and gross motor skills.

Staff support children to learn about leading healthy lifestyles successfully. This is evident when they talk to children at snack time about the health benefits of eating fruit and drinking water. Staff also engage children and parents in projects about the importance of good oral health.

This helps to support children's overall well-being and self-care skills.Children have good opportunities to develop awareness of people and cultures different to their own. For instance, staff plan a range of activities, such as cooking and dressing up, to help children to learn about different backgrounds and traditions.

This helps them to develop accepting and respectful attitudes towards each other's similarities and differences.Parents speak very positively about the creche. They comment that their children make good progress and that staff are caring and supportive.

They also express that they feel well involved in their children's learning.Staff discuss good levels of staff well-being and have regular opportunities to reflect on their performance at work. However, opportunities for frequent training and professional development are not prioritised to help staff to raise the quality of education to the very highest level.

Staff plan daily group sessions to develop children's listening skills, language development and social learning. However, at times, not all children, particularly quieter children, fully engage and participate in these activities in a fully meaningful way.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The manager and staff carry out daily checks and risk assessments to ensure the learning environment is clean and free from any hazards. Staff also engage in first-aid training in order to have up-to-date knowledge of how to respond to a medical emergency if one was to arise. Furthermore, staff demonstrate a good understanding of their responsibilities to safeguard children.

They can identify possible signs that may indicate a child's welfare is being compromised. Staff also know how to report their concerns to appropriate professionals to help to protect children's safety. The manager completes thorough checks to ensure new staff are suitable for their roles.

This includes obtaining Disclosure and Barring Service checks. This helps to create a good culture of safeguarding at the creche.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nincrease the focus on staff members' professional development to help raise the quality of education to an even higher level review the organisation of group times to fully maximise opportunities for children to be more deeply engaged in their learning.