Merry-Go-Round @ Riverside

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

The layout of the environment is excellent and the materials and resources are thoughtfully added to promote children's creativity, problem solving and exploration. Staff skillfully observe children and provide experiences that are suited to their interests and to help challenge their learning to the highest level.

For example, children are inspired by the open-ended resources as they use various vegetables, guttering and balancing scales to consider concepts such as weight, size and speed. Staff have a very precise and clear learning intention for activities and place a top priority on introducing new vocabulary, ideas ...and concepts during their interactions. The various vegetables added to the activities fascinate children.

For example, children independently explore the vegetables which are frozen in the ice. Others consider how potatoes covered in paint create different splatter patterns as they are dropped from various heights. Staff constantly help children experiment and question what they see and interact with.

For example, children delight in adding water and cornflour on a large scale on the floor to make their paste, and make marks using a variety of tools and objects. Children show equal levels of enthusiasm during small-group work and easily recognise their names, sing and show excellent listening and attention skills. Staff provide exceptional care for all children and they feel safe and are extremely independent in their environment.

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

The whole staff team provides high-quality education and care to all children and share the leadership team's vision in the pursuit of excellence. A rich curriculum is delivered exceptionally well by staff which is centred on promoting children's creativity, exploration and discovery. Staff talk about the Reggio Emilia approach.

The outstanding outcomes are clearly attributed to the excellent use of the highly simulating environment, resources and experiences on offer. Staff deployment is excellent and they skilfully engage all children in their play and learning. The mathematics and literacy curriculum is delivered extremely creatively and this inspires all children to learn.

The highly motivated leadership team works with staff and rigorously monitors quality, and offers an astute and targeted programme of professional development. Promoting staff's emotional well-being and fostering their enthusiasm are given high priority and, as a result, staff are extremely dedicated and passionate about their work with children.Staff expertly use their observations of what children can do and like to provide highly challenging activities based on children's individual learning styles to motivate them.

They carefully track all children's progress, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language, to ensure they all make the very best possible progress.Staff know parents and the local community extremely well and make excellent use of local resources to help support families. They value each parent, and this inclusive approach results in extremely strong relationships with parents and excellent support for those families who need it most.

Parents report extremely high levels of satisfaction about the care their children receive and the support and advice they receive on parenting issues.Promoting children's health and well-being is given the highest priority. All children, including babies, have excellent opportunities to extend and practise their physical skills indoors and outdoors.

For example, staff caring for babies make excellent use of the soft-play area to provide ample physical play opportunities daily. Staff work closely with parents on any health issues, such as healthy eating, including providing healthy lunch boxes and good oral hygiene.Promoting children's personal, social and emotional development is at the heart of the staff's work.

They offer a child-centred programme based on the principles of respect, resilience and responsibility. Consequently, children work extremely well in groups, easily negotiate and are deeply engaged in their learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have an excellent understanding of child protection issues and the procedures to follow to safeguard children. They work collaboratively with other agencies and professionals working with families to ensure their safety and welfare. Children's safety is given high priority at all times.

For example, staff provide useful information to parents about the risks of the internet and work with parents and children to help reduce screen time at home and focus on the benefits of reading books together instead. Staff are highly skilled in providing an environment which is exciting and offers controlled risks. They are extremely vigilant about children's safety and supervise them well to keep them safe.

Also at this postcode