Ash Green Children’s Centre Daycare

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children thrive in this stimulating learning environment and clearly enjoy their time in the setting. They happily enter the setting and quickly become engrossed in a range of activities. Arrangements for settling-in new starters are highly effective, and children settle quickly in response.

Children make rapid progress from their original starting points on entry, and teaching is of high quality. Children benefit from individualised support from staff, who truly understand their needs and capabilities. Many of the children require additional support with speech and language.

Skilful interactions and targeted su...pport help any gaps in learning to narrow quickly. Staff have high expectations of what the children can achieve and are extremely proactive in getting any professional support in place quickly. In the short time that children attend, staff make sure they get the best possible start in order to reach their full potential.

When children returned to the setting, following the COVID-19 pandemic, staff prioritised learning outdoors where all children could challenge themselves physically. Regular trips to the local woodland allow children opportunities to balance and gain increasing control of their bodies, as they walk on the uneven ground. They balance on logs, improve their muscle strength as they climb, jump, stretch and get physically active.

Partnerships with parents and schools that children transition to are highly effective. Regular two-way communication provides valuable information, which is used to good effect to inform the curriculum and widen children's experiences. The curriculum is well-considered, it is ambitious, and staff work hard to ensure children acquire the skills they need for their transition to school.

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

Teaching is consistently of a very high quality. Staff make accurate and precise assessments of children's learning and use this information to continuously build on children's prior knowledge and skills. Staff recognise the importance of allowing children plenty of opportunities to practise and hone their skills and apply their learning in different ways.

This helps to ensure that knowledge is truly embedded.Staff are well qualified and keep their knowledge and skills updated attending various training and conferences. They understand how children learn and their role in supporting them to acquire the skills needed for their transitions to school.

The staff work extremely well together as a team and are committed to achieving the best outcomes for children. They continuously reflect on their practice and what it is like for a child in the setting. They welcome and value all feedback from parents and professionals and are quick to take action to make any improvements.

Children with special educational needs are extremely well supported. Staff are proactive in making sure children and families get the help and support they need. They act swiftly to get professionals on board and invest heavily in staff training and get one-to-one support for children where it is needed.

Staff give the highest priority to developing children's communication and language and have attended plenty of training on this. Staff ensure they teach children the language of feelings, which enables them to talk about their different emotions, how they feel and why. Staff recognise the importance of exposing children to a language rich environment, and they regularly talk to children during daily routines.

All of the staff are very skilled in talking and listening to children. When asking questions, staff always allow children time to process information and respond in their own time. Staff make effective use of picture cards to aid communication and provide these for families to use at home as a part of a consistent approach.

Children can be regularly seen enjoying books and engaging in group story times. They listen intently to stories and show excellent recall as they join in with repeated phrases and retell the story. They enjoy re-enacting their favourite stories and use language to describe their actions, as they go 'up', 'over, 'under, and 'through' the apparatus.

Regular visits to the local library further support children's love of books, and parents are also welcomed and encouraged to join them on visits.Children are inquisitive learners and enjoy finding out what happens as a result of their actions. For example, they enjoy exploring what will happen when they add paint to a puddle outside.

They select sticks and mix in the paint, watching and waiting with excitement as the puddle turns blue. They enjoy splashing and mixing it together with their boots before comparing the puddles with paint to those without. They look at the similarities and differences and observe that they can no longer see the bottom in the one where they added the paint.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders and managers worked hard to continue to support children and families during times when the setting was closed. They kept in touch in various different ways, and this included regular telephone calls, doorstep and garden visits. They sent learning packs and even posted videos to keep encouraging children to do their best, brushing of their teeth like they would do if they were still attending the setting.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Robust arrangements are in place to ensure the safe recruitment of any new staff. Staff have a secure understanding their safeguarding responsibilities and are skilled in working with professionals to get children and families the help and support they need.

A good balance is struck between providing a safe environment for children and enabling them to take risks and test out their physical skills. Children develop an awareness of road safety on trips away from the setting. Staff talk to them about the things they need to consider when deciding whether it is safe to cross the road.

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