High 5 Plymouth College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Children are happy and excited.

They settle, quickly finding their friends to chat about the day ahead. Children behave incredibly well. They move excitedly between activities with their room leader.

Children confidently try new skills and practise existing ones. For example, four- and five-year-old children attend a tennis-skills session. Some children are reluctant as they feel they are no good at tennis.

The staff skilfully and gently encourage them. They explain that the session will help them develop the skills they need. The children join in, and within minutes, they are practising balancing on lines and hit...ting the tennis ball.

Their faces shine with a sense of achievement. All children feel safe and secure in the setting. Staff plan a welcoming environment that supports all children.

They provide for all areas of learning in the early years foundation stage. This ensures younger children have a lot of different opportunities. This enables children to continue to learn and develop.

For example, younger children enjoy exploring an ice activity that staff have planned. Staff help them to think about how the ice will melt and how long it might take. Children show high levels of concentration and enjoy working out solutions to problems.

Older children choose from board games and craft activities. These help them develop strategic thinking and sharing.

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

Leaders have a clear vision for children that they share with the whole staff team.

They want to, 'light a fire in the children to lead healthy active lives'. They want to give children the opportunity to develop creative and physical skills. They also want to enable children to, 'take risks and have a go at new things'.

Leaders hold regular team meetings to ensure staff share this ethos. They provide training and support, to give staff the confidence to help the children. Staff feel very supported and are motivated to be the best they can when working with children.

Children develop a good awareness and skills to lead a healthy lifestyle. The setting has a 'no electronic-gadget' policy. Children happily agree with this policy.

They relish the different physical and craft activities on offer and enjoy sharing these with their friends. They develop different skills in the many sports activities on offer. These include hockey, football, tennis, swimming, and ball skills.

Staff promote healthy choices for snacks and meals. They ensure children always have access to water. They talk to the children about the benefits of staying hydrated.

Children enjoy making friends with each other. They behave well and support each other with activities. For example, during a craft activity, a child helps another cut out snowflakes.

Children join in with tidying up such as washing paint pots when the activity is finished. Children are content and happy. Staff ensure the day is fun but maintain the setting's rules consistently.

This means children know what is expected and feel secure.Staff ensure children have a choice of activities to follow their interests. For example, older children have a go at throwing inflatable axes at a target.

They devise a competition. Some children are not engaged as they are not enjoying the competitive activity. Staff quickly provide mats for them to practise gymnastics, so that they are engaged in another activity content.

Younger children can relax between activities in a cosy den and read stories.Leaders ensure the setting is very inclusive. They provide staff with the knowledge and skills to support all children.

They want children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to access all the activities. Children with SEND are supported exceptionally well. Staff take time to understand their needs.

They work with parents and other agencies to develop support plans. They ensure these are delivered calmly and professionally.Parents express how happy they are with the provision.

Parents are pleased with the variety of activities on offer and how happy their children are when they pick them up. They share how excited their children are to tell them about their day and all that they have done. Staff communicate very well with parents to ensure all children's needs are met.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders have established robust training programs to ensure staff have secure knowledge of how to safeguard children. Staff can confidently identify potential signs of harm from each category of abuse.

They know how to record concerns and who to report these to. Staff know how to whistle-blow if the need should arise. Leaders carry out daily health and safety checks.

They use these effectively to help staff keep the children safe from hazards. There are robust monitoring systems in place to identify activities or resources that may cause accidents. Leaders take immediate action to reduce any risks.

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