Playdays @ Harpur Hill

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Children are warmly welcomed by kind and nurturing staff.

They happily hang up their coats and bags when they arrive. Younger children's confidence is boosted as staff reward them with a sticker for following the arrival routine. They smile proudly and tell visitors that their sticker has a frog on it.

Children are calm and settled, showing that they feel safe and secure within the club.Children's social skills are promoted well by staff. For example, during mealtimes children hold conversations with staff and their peers.

They discuss the weather, their home life and what is happening at school. Children communic...ate confidently. They introduce themselves to visitors and ask if they are enjoying their time at the club.

Children enjoy and engage in the activities that staff provide for them. For example, they sit and build pyramids from small construction bricks. Children use their imagination as they zoom toy cars under the tables, play hairdressers and set up a pretend café.

They eagerly involve staff in their imaginative play as they pretend to take food orders and bring out their meals. Children concentrate and use their fine motor skills as they draw pictures and write food lists for the café.

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

Partnerships with parents are strong.

Staff communicate with parents verbally and through an online app. They provide parents with photographs and updates about children's time at the club. Parents report that they value the updates and reassurances provided by staff.

They comment that, 'All staff are wonderful, helpful and caring.' Staff provide activities linked to children's interests and preferences. Additionally, staff promote children's choices and decision-making skills as they self-select the toys they would like to play with from a wide range of resources offered.

Children's emotional needs are met through care from a consistent staff team, who know them well. Children receive comfort and reassurance from staff, for example, when they hurt themselves or become upset.Staff promote children's good health and hygiene.

For instance, staff identify and meet children's individual dietary needs. Before eating, staff encourage children to wash their hands. Staff act as good role models as they wash their own hands and ensure that tables are clean before and after mealtimes.

Overall, staff promote children's independence well. Children pour their own drinks and breakfast cereal. However, at times staff complete tasks that children could carry out for themselves, such as spreading their choice of toppings on toast.

Children know and understand the expectations set by staff. They explain some of the rules, such as to be polite to adults, work as a team and walk when inside. Children show exemplary behaviour and are kind and considerate to one another.

They show concern when a friend hurts themselves and they tell staff what has happened. Children cooperate and help one another. One example of this is when they jointly carry and put away toy boxes during tidy-up time.

Staff take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of children. For example, they check the environment before children arrive to identify and remove any risks. During the session, staff quickly respond to new hazards, for example they clean up spilled water from the floor.

This helps to provide a safe environment for children and prevent potential accidents.Staff have strong relationships with the host school. They regularly share information about children's physical and emotional well-being and any significant events.

This helps to ensure that children's individual needs are met.The established staff team are enthusiastic and passionate about what they do. Staff morale is high, and staff say that they feel valued and well supported by the provider.

This helps them to carry out their role to the best of their ability.The provider has a strong focus on ensuring that staff have a secure knowledge of safeguarding. This includes staff regularly updating their knowledge through appropriate training.

Staff are provided with opportunities to discuss safeguarding scenarios and complete quizzes to check their understanding of how to identify if children are at potential risk of harm.

Safeguarding

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

Also at this postcode