YMCA Beginnings Day Care

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are excited to attend the setting and are warmly welcomed by happy staff, who are genuinely pleased to see them.

Children leave their parents with ease and enthusiastically settle at an activity of their choice. Staff remind children to sit down when using scissors, so they learn to keep themselves safe. Staff display children's drawings on the wall.

Children show pride as they point their pictures out to visitors.Staff support children to be independent from an early age. They help younger children to learn to pour their own drinks.

Staff hold the jug handle with them and count 'One, two, three' as t...hey pour, so they learn when their cup has enough in. Staff encourage older children to label their bottles with their names. Consequently, children learn to recognise their names and their friends as they give them their bottles to drink from throughout the day.

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They encourage children to remember the 'Pre-school promises'. Children show their understanding as they say they need to use their listening ears to hear instructions from staff.

Children learn how to work together and to be kind. Pre-school children confidently relay staff instructions as they say that if they want a turn with a toy, they need to ask their friends, get a timer and wait until it has run out.

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

The manager and staff understand child development and use this knowledge to implement a clear curriculum for all children.

Staff set up the learning environments using children's interests, which supports children to engage for long periods of time and embed knowledge they have gained from staff.The manager and staff build positive relationships with parents and carers and gather information from them when their children first start. The manager and staff use this information to tailor the support they provide for families.

For example, they use additional funding to create parcels to send home with children to ensure families have equal access to food and toys. The setting extends its support in the local community. Staff work with other services to help families find suitable housing and access additional support.

This gives children and families beyond those who use the setting improved outcomes.Staff name the items babies reach for and describe the illustrations as they look at books and point to pictures. This helps babies learn new words.

With toddlers, staff describe what they are doing, teach additional words and repeat what children say. While older children safely use knives to chop a variety of mushrooms, staff introduce new language and name the different types of mushrooms. Children are keen to use the new language, such as 'shitake' mushrooms.

Staff working with pre-school children use mealtimes to engage them in conversations. They encourage children to compare lunches and talk about different foods. Children learn about new foods, such as beetroot, and refer to these in conversations later in the day.

Staff provide children with a range of experiences that develop children's physical skills. Staff arrange low-level furniture, which enables babies to pull up to standing. They support their movements forwards and backwards on rocking toys so they develop core muscle strength.

Staff support toddlers to learn how to use balance bicycles as they describe how they should use their legs to propel themselves forward. Toddlers follow these instructions before confidently pushing themselves around the garden. Staff build on this as they encourage pre-school children to ride bicycles without stabilisers.

Staff give clear instructions on how to push off with one foot, move their feet around on the pedals and hold the handlebars. This supports children to gain the skills required to ride a bicycle independently.Staff understand their roles and know how to meet babies' care needs well.

They give them time to follow their interests and investigate the environment around them. However, staff are not always attuned to these moments to help build on babies skills and knowledge. As a result, babies are not experiencing the same high-quality interactions in comparison to their older peers.

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: support staff to develop their interactions further so babies benefit from high-quality teaching experiences.