Rainbow Childcare Centres

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Parents comment positively about their children's experiences.

They say that they have a 'good relationship with their key person'. Children show care and concern for others. For example, they give their friends cuddles.

Parents say that they like the opportunities their children have to attend 'forest sessions'. Staff take children to local woodland for outdoor learning. Children collect sticks and make pretend fires.

They put leaves on the end of sticks and pretend they are 'marshmallows'. Children show great imaginative skills. Staff support children when they walk across fallen trees, encouraging their bal...ance and coordination.

Children are happy and show a positive attitude to learning. Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. They attend training courses to deepen their understanding of how to help children to manage their emotions and feelings.

Staff explain to children the rules and boundaries in the centre. For example, they remind them that they might fall if they run inside. Younger children show their understanding of the consequences of their actions.

They say that they might 'bump my head'. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. Staff supervise them well.

Children wear high-visibility jackets when they go on outings away from the centre so they can easily be seen. This contributes to their safety.

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

Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities effectively.

They put targeted plans in place to promote their individual needs. Staff share information with other settings that the children also attend to promote consistency in their learning.The manager gathers the views of parents when she reflects on the effectiveness of the centre.

She makes improvements that have a positive impact on children's learning. For example, the addition of an interactive board offers children further opportunities to extend their understanding of technology. Children use their fingers to move objects across a screen and confidently use simple computer programs.

Staff support children's understanding of diversity well. For example, when they sing a welcome song, staff use sign language that children copy. This helps children to learn about the different ways that people communicate.

Staff promote children's mathematical skills effectively. They ask children to count the number of children present in a group. When older children use construction toys to make shapes, staff explain to them that they have made a 'cube'.

This contributes to children's understanding of numbers and three-dimensional shapes.Staff provide children with opportunities to take and manage risks in their play. Children use tools safely.

For example, they use hammers to chip away at ice to free numbers that are hidden inside. Staff show children how the ice melts when they hold it in the warmth of their hand. Children copy staff and feel for themselves how it melts.

This helps them to develop their understanding of why things happen.Staff use the curriculum to extend children's experiences and to help them to be ready for their move on to school. They provide children with plenty of opportunities to learn outdoors and to share.

For example, staff ask children to work in pairs; one to find 'five leaves' and the other to record on a piece of paper what they have found. They then ask children to swop roles. Children demonstrate good listening skills and take turns.

They behave well.Staff encourage children to be independent. Children wash their hands prior to eating and put on their boots and coats before they play outside.

They learn skills in preparation for future learning.Staff support children to develop their literacy skills, such as their ability to follow stories. Younger children join in with favourite repeated phrases in stories, such as 'huff and puff' and 'blow your house down'.

However, staff do not consistently think carefully enough about planned adult-led group activities and how they can meet all children's abilities and engagement.Staff share information with parents about children's achievements. However, they have not considered how to support parents to carry on their children's learning at home, particularly to help them to develop a love of books and reading.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a good understanding of the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk of harm. They know where to report any concerns that they have about a child in their care.

The manager uses robust recruitment procedures to make sure that staff are suitable for their roles. Staff gather information about who can collect children. They ask for passwords from people they do not know.

This ensures that children do not leave their care with a person unknown to their parents. This contributes to children's safety.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nuse what is known about children's abilities to plan group activities more precisely, to maintain all children's engagement consistently strengthen opportunities for parents to support children's learning at home, particularly to develop a love of books and reading to promote literacy skills.

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