Twyford Playgroup

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children thoroughly enjoy their play and learning. They make friends easily and are respectful and kind to each other.

Children understand the expectations for their behaviour, take pride in their achievements and are active learners. They benefit from the many opportunities to play outdoors. A high emphasis is placed on helping children learn more about the wider world and natural resources.

Children develop an awareness of risk and confidence during their play outdoors. For instance, children work collaboratively as they construct a pulley system with ropes to transport water in buckets. They learn to use one-handed ...tools, such as hammers, as they play in the mud kitchen area.

Children listen carefully to staff's instructions and reminders for keeping themselves safe. All children show they are ready for the next stages of their education.Children demonstrate that they feel very happy and emotionally secure.

They sing their welcome song with warmth and caring as they greet each other and staff in the morning. Children listen as others speak and share and value each other's work, for example when staff show children the pictures their friends have been painting. Staff provide crockery for children to eat from at snack time.

Children understand the necessity of handling their plates and bowls with care. Snack times and lunchtimes are very sociable occasions.

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

Leadership and management are secure.

A strong focus is placed on providing an inclusive learning environment for all children. Leaders work very well with the committee and ensure that systems for recruitment, induction and training of staff are robust. Leaders engage effectively with parents and their local community.

Staff state that they feel thoroughly supported in their roles and that their ideas are valued.Staff implement a curriculum that overall is well understood and in the main builds on what children know and already understand. At times, however, staff are not always ambitious enough when sequencing this learning.

This is most evident in the area of mathematics. Generally, children can confidently articulate what they know in regard to numbers and counting. However, there are fewer opportunities for children to build on this knowledge and to learn more, for instance by using positional language, solving problems and making comparisons about size, weight and volume.

Staff place a high importance on helping children to be confident learners. They follow children's interests when planning the learning environment but extend opportunities well to encompass new and broader interests. For example, children demonstrate their creativity by painting their interpretation of a vase of tulips picked on a recent walk.

Through discussions, they learn new terms, such as 'stem'. Likewise, as part of their topic of growth, children also learn about decay. They show interest as they use books for research that help them know more about fossils.

Intrigued, children copy and create these fossils using moulds and moulding dough.Children behave extremely well throughout the day. They demonstrate a positive attitude to their learning.

Children concentrate and are actively interested in their activities. For example, children follow instructions and listen well during a group session where they compare and identify the sounds different objects make. Later in the day, they attentively take part during story time as they demonstrate their comprehension of the storylines and share their ideas about what is happening.

Children are respectful to their friends and to staff.Staff encourage children's independence, for example, in their personal care, putting on coats and outdoor shoes, and when pouring their drinks at snack time. Staff utilise their training that helps them promote children's emotional literacy.

For instance, staff show care and compassion as they talk about emotions and feelings. Children distinguish that a happy face may mean 'we have someone to play with'. Children interpret other faces, for example determining what may represent scared or worried feelings.

Parents are positive about the care their children receive. They state that staff are nurturing and offer positive experiences. Parents praise the ideas that staff provide them with for children's learning at home.

Parents comment about the interventions that children receive, particularly those who need a little more emotional or developmental support and those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff fully understand their responsibilities to protect children.

They know the families of children attending well and receive regular training to maintain their safeguarding awareness. Staff have a good knowledge of all aspects of safeguarding. For example, they understand what to do if a child makes a disclosure to them and how to record accidents that occur at home.

Staff demonstrate their knowledge of how to identify possible radicalisation and know what to do if they have a concern about another staff member or leader of the setting. Policies, procedures and risk assessments are thorough, and are adhered to by all staff.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: develop a more consistent approach for the sequencing of learning aims across all areas of learning, and in particular for mathematics.