Sinfin Community Childcare

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff create a warm and welcoming environment, where children feel safe and secure. Children arrive happy and excited to greet staff and their friends.

They soon settle in their self-chosen activities. Staff know the children exceptionally well and skilfully adapt activities to ensure that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are fully supported to reach their potential and achieve good outcomes. Children thrive in the inclusive environment.

The pre-school is firmly rooted in the local community it serves. Staff have a deep understanding of the local community and have bu...ilt strong networks with different community groups that share their building. They use these networks to help provide a wide range of activities and experiences for children to develop their awareness of the local community and the wider world.

Staff foster children's love of books. They carefully consider the age and stage of development of the children and choose engaging picture books to spark children's interest in imaginative tales. Children enthusiastically join in with the story and show delight in using props to help retell the story.

For example, they use their hands as a telescope and talk about what they can see. Children are deeply engaged and show they are confident communicators as they talk to each other about the story.

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

Parents are exceptionally complimentary about the pre-school.

They value the care and attention that staff provide for children, commenting that ' they go above and beyond to support us as a whole family.' Parents receive regular information about what their children have been doing each day and how they are progressing. They say they are supported to extend children's learning at home.

Staff provide children with SEND with the best start in their educational journey. They use their knowledge and understanding of children's individual needs to carefully plan next steps in learning and development. Early intervention and meaningful support help children to make good progress.

Snack and mealtimes promote children's social skills as staff sit with children and initiate conversations. Children are encouraged to carry out a range of tasks by themselves, such as pouring drinks and putting on their outdoor clothing. This helps children to develop their independence skills.

When children first start attending pre-school, staff take time to find out all about them. Staff's priority is to develop children's personal, social, communication and language skills. They use any extra funding that they receive to support the children.

For example, they have purchased resources to help to develop a quiet and calming space in response to some children's needs. They use this area to help children to manage their own emotions when they become unsettled.The management team are supportive of staff.

They place high importance on staff's well-being, consequently, staff say they feel valued and looked after. The management team spend time reflecting on practice, completing staff supervisions and offering staff training. However, further support to staff through additional coaching and monitoring would help to enhance their teaching skills to an even higher level.

Staff promote children's physical development well. They provide ample opportunities for children to practise using their large and small muscles. Children thoroughly enjoy using the garden area to climb, ride bicycles and balance.

They demonstrate good spatial awareness as they run around. Furthermore, children play cooperatively together. They wait patiently for their friends to finish their turn and share the resources with kindness and respect for one another.

Staff know how to implement the well-sequenced curriculum. Activities and experiences are carefully planned and organised. For example, a play dough station is provided to help build up children's dexterity and strength in their hands and fingers.

This prepares children for toilet training, where they will need to be able to undress and dress independently. Staff interact positively with children and play alongside them. However, there are times when staff are overly directive, reducing opportunities for children to lead their own play and test out their ideas.

Safeguarding

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

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nimplement more opportunities for coaching and monitoring of staff's teaching skills to increase their knowledge of how children can gain the most from learning experiences nenable children to follow their own ideas when engaging with self-chosen activities.