Play in Dore

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Children thoroughly enjoy every moment in this well-organised and homely club.

They look forward to coming and parents comment that they are often reluctant to leave when it is time to go home. Children learn to confidently make decisions about the toys, stimulating games and creative activities they choose to play with. Staff help them to persist with tasks, to take turns and play fairly.

For example, children work well together, mixing and measuring ingredients and learning how bread rises as they create their autumnal hedgehog loaves.Children are very well behaved and treat the staff and each other with courtesy. They l...earn to play with children from the three different schools that attend the club and build lasting friendships.

Staff are very positive role models, who fully involve children in planning activities and in creating rules and routines. Staff ensure children are kept safe and secure at all times. For example, they learn how to walk safely on narrow pathways and to cross busy roads together as they eagerly participate in the strenuous 'walking 'bus' journeys.

Parents appreciate the consistently good care staff show towards their children and the exciting breadth of activities available.

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

Leaders are ambitious to provide the best for the children and have a very clear vision of how to achieve it. They have rigorous procedures for recruiting and retaining high-quality staff that share their sense of purpose.

Leaders and staff draw well on the views of children and parents to reflect on their practice and set robust actions for further development.Staff have specific responsibilities for planning and organising activities. They draw on the children's interests and their own expertise to provide constantly challenging and engaging activities for children to choose from.

For example, children love the many physical challenges and team games led by sport's coaches or imaginative craft activities, such as making wobbly Halloween characters.Staff know the children very well. They liaise effectively with parents and with children's teachers in order to support them effectively.

They support children to behave well through, for example, the three 'Bs', 'Be kind, be safe and be respectful'. They have high expectations for good manners and courtesy. Staff are sensitive to the children's feelings and needs.

Staff support many aspects of children's development as they join in their play. For example, they help children to use scissors accurately as they cut out shapes for their Halloween crafts or introduce them to new vocabulary as they complete a jigsaw of Noah's Ark and other tales. Children's key workers carefully monitor how well children settle in and build on their experiences.

Staff create a warm, nurturing and creative environment. Young children play happily with older ones and feel valued and supported. Staff discuss children's interests with parents when they first start and make sure there are toys and activities available that will engage them.

Staff make a strong contribution to children's health and well-being. They help children understand the importance of good hygiene, such as washing their hands regularly. They involve the children in planning a wide range of healthy snacks, baking activities and encouraging them to try new foods.

Children enjoy many opportunities to be physically active, indoors and out.The club is very inclusive. Staff are flexible and responsive to parents and children's individual needs.

They work closely with teachers and parents to match care to children's needs, including those who are vulnerable and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.Parents very strongly recommend the club. They feel confident leaving their children in the staff's care and know that they will enjoy themselves.

They welcome the guidance and very strong support the experienced staff offer them and feel that the club is very much at the heart of the village community.

Safeguarding

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