Yeovil Opportunity Group

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children settle quickly upon arrival.

They are individually welcomed by a familiar and friendly member of staff. Staff know children's interests very well and use this when setting up activities. As a result, children are keen to start playing, gaining new skills and revisiting previous experiences to further increase their confidence.

Staff plan a targeted curriculum that focuses on what children need to achieve. They ensure a safe environment for children to enjoy a good range of activities and toys that interest them. Children laugh and smile to demonstrate how proud they are of their own achievements.

Staf...f set realistic focused next steps for each child and are quick to praise even the smallest of achievements that children make. This encourages them to have a go and keep trying.Children gain confidence and independence due to the effective support they receive from staff.

For example, children learn social skills as they all sit around the large table to eat their snack. They receive high levels of support from the attentive staff. Children learn how to manage their behaviour.

Staff are very kind and act as good role models. They teach children about sharing and taking turns. Staff take time to prepare children for changes in routine and their expectations.

They use pictorial signs to help children understand what is happening now, and what is happening next.The pre-school remained open throughout the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Staff made changes to routines to protect children's health.

For example, children were cared for in small and consistent 'bubbles'. Parents and children were greeted at the door by staff, to avoid them entering the pre-school. This meant that children continued to receive good support for their learning and development without compromising their health.

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

The well-planned curriculum is carefully tailored to individual children's needs. Staff accurately identify what children need to learn next using the information they gather from other professionals and parents, and from their own observations of children. Key persons are clear how they can help children to achieve these goals.

However, sometimes, other adults working with the children are less clear about these goals, to ensure children receive the very best support possible.Staff prioritise children's safety and well-being. Children play and explore freely, as staff are always close by to supervise them to help keep them safe.

For example, staff place safety mats on the floor to allow children to experiment as they move their bodies and learn how to control their movements. Staff provide lots of clear space indoors and outside. This particularly helps those children who are learning to become mobile.

Staff work closely together as a team and meet weekly to reflect on the provision and share ideas of how to improve experiences for children. Recent staffing changes have meant that staff do not benefit from frequent opportunities to receive individual guidance or support from senior staff, to further promote continuous improvements.Children learn to use a wide range of communication methods based on their specific needs.

These include the use of sign language, speech and pictures, to enable them to express themselves. From a young age, children learn to use the pictures to inform staff what they want. For example, 'more' at snack time.

During the group circle time, children learn to sign when welcoming each other, showing that they are learning to recognise others.Managers use funding effectively to help close any gaps in children's learning. For example, specialist staff, such as speech and language therapists, work alongside key persons to provide specific support and instruction to improve children's communication skills.

Partnerships with parents are very strong. Parents' access to the pre-school has been limited due to the pandemic. Despite this, staff make sure they talk to parents each day to share children's achievements and gain information about how they are progressing at home.

Parents speak highly of how they value the positive support they receive from leaders and managers. They talk about how staff go 'over and above' to ensure their children achieve as much as possible.Leaders work hard to establish strong links with others working with children.

For example, staff welcome visits from staff working at other settings that children also attend. Key persons share any specialist techniques or strategies that they use, to ensure they work consistently to support children's learning.Leaders and managers provide good support to the staff team to help ensure children receive the help they need to make good progress.

They are ambitious and regularly review how they can make improvements that focus on further enhancing the experiences of children and their families.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The management team and staff have a clear understanding of their responsibilities to safeguard children.

They are clear about possible signs or symptoms that may mean a child is at risk of harm, which includes wider safeguarding issues such as grooming and county lines. They recognise their individual roles to act promptly to escalate any concerns, to ensure steps are taken to protect children from harm. Staff keep their knowledge up to date, for example through attending training.

Robust procedures are followed by managers when new staff or volunteers are recruited. This helps to ensure that anyone caring for children is suitable to do so.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: further develop the staff supervision arrangements, to ensure that all staff receive regular opportunities to reflect on their practice and identify where improvements can be made provide even greater support for children's learning so that all adults working with them have an in-depth understanding of what each child needs to learn next and what they need to do to support this.