Hidden Treasures

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement There are weaknesses in leadership and management, resulting in a breach of requirements.

However, the impact of this is minimal to children.Staff supervise children well, ensuring that they feel happy and safe. For example, they encourage quieter children to contribute to activities and conversations to share their views and ideas.

Staff give children lots of meaningful praise, acknowledging the amazing things that they have achieved during the session. Placing a pom-pom into a reward jar affirms children's positive behaviours and efforts and increases their self-confidence.Staff encourage children to make independent ch...oices for the books they want to read, songs they wish to sing and the instruments they wish to explore.

They observe children's levels of engagement and adapt their practice accordingly to ensure that they effectively support them. For instance, when staff notice that children's interests are decreasing, they ask them if they would like to change their instrument and respond positively when other children also ask, taking account of their views.Staff design the environment to build on children's experiences.

For instance, when children talk about their holidays, staff set up the role play area to reflect this. They invite various visitors into the setting to extend children's understanding, such as the police. Outdoors, children learn to grow their own herbs, and there is a mud kitchen where they pretend to cook with mud.

These experiences strengthen children's cultural capital.

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

The nominated individual has failed to ensure that all committee members obtain an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. They have not notified Ofsted of these committee members to enable further suitability checks to be conducted.

This is a breach of requirements. However, the breach does not impact children's safety, well-being or development, as the committee members do not have any contact with the children at the setting.Parents and carers are happy, and they can see that their children make secure progress.

However, staff have yet to provide parents who do not have access to the online app with regular updates about their children's learning. Furthermore, when next steps are shared, the intent is not always detailed enough to help parents to continue learning at home.The manager is reflective, taking on board a wealth of feedback from staff, parents and other professionals to shape the curriculum.

She has recently organised network meetings with other managers in the local area to share good practice and obtain updated information. This helps her to outline improvements.The manager encourages staff to develop and exercise their strengths.

For example, when staff present extremely nurturing personalities, they are appointed key person to those younger children to support their emotional needs. Staff benefit from observations and supervision to evaluate their practice and ensure that their well-being is supported.From the moment that children arrive, staff promote their independence.

For example, they learn to place their lunch box in the designated area and hang up their own belongings. Children recognise their written name and use this skill to record their attendance. They practise tipping and pouring as they fill up empty milk bottles with water.

This helps to develop their coordination to later pour their own drinks.Staff plan activities which focus on developing children's understanding of mathematics. For example, they introduce simple addition and subtraction and help children to learn important numbers, such as their age.

Staff encourage children to draw over numbers with their finger, strengthening number recognition.Overall, staff work effectively to develop children's communication skills. For example, they model language, regularly sing with children and read them stories.

However, on occasions, staff do not fully consider how they can provide children with even more information to extend their knowledge and understanding. This impacts the amount of progress children can make.The manager, who is also the special educational needs coordinator, identifies the importance of keeping her knowledge up to date.

Quite often, there are no children on roll who need additional support. However, she continues to work closely with other professionals to ensure that she remains vigilant in identifying any child who is at risk of falling behind.Children have access to personalised resources tailored to meet their needs.

For instance, staff have handmade some games to promote children's attention skills and visual timetables for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to engage in the routine. The manager ensures that children in receipt of funding receive their full entitlement to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must: Due date ensure that the nominated individual improves their understanding of the requirement to inform Ofsted of all committee members to allow the required suitability checks to be completed.16/07/2024 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen procedures for sharing next steps with parents, ensuring that targets are clear and help parents to continue children's learning at home support staff to further build on what children already know by providing children with even more information and knowledge to enhance their learning.

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