The Tree House Children's Centre

Inspection of The Tree House Children's Centre Gregory Croft House, Fen Road, East Kirkby, SPILSBY, Lincolnshire PE23 4DB

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding

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The provision is good

Children arrive excited to learn at the home-from-home setting created by staff. Children of all ages develop strong relationships with staff and settle quickly in their care. Children are happy to explore the environment and interact with visitors. They seek a reassuring look or cuddle from staff when needed. They listen well to staff. They show good attention skills and join in with familiar phrases from stories such as 'The Gruffulo'. Children are independent from a young age. Children aged under two years wash their hands without support and they help to put their outdoor clothing on. Older children choose and pour drinks without needing support. They recognise and explain to others that different-coloured jugs contain different drink options.

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The provision is good

Children are confident and determined to try things for themselves. They concentrate intently while exploring a wide range of outdoor opportunities and developing their physical skills. Children persevere to climb and balance on large tractor tyres and in trees. Staff teach children how to jump down carefully and make sure that they know how to keep themselves safe. Children work together to roll a member of staff inside a large play drainage pipe. They exclaim they are 'really strong'. The children and staff all laugh and suggest it is like a washing machine on a spin cycle. Staff praise children for discovering how to make it roll as a team. This motivates the children to imitate this play, using smaller and larger pipes and comparing the movements to other washing machine actions.

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need to do better?

n Staff know the children very well, including their learning and development needs. They observe children throughout the day and work closely as a team to assess what children need to learn next. Staff focus on supporting any potential gaps in children's knowledge and experiences, including those of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. n Staff engage children through their interests. For instance, babies enjoy filling and emptying bags during play. Staff extend this and play a game with babies, using paper bags. They encourage babies to tap their knees while singing, 'What's inside the bag?' Children all find a toy in their bag and staff encourage them to sing related songs. For example, a child holds up a spider puppet and staff sing, 'There's a spider on my head.' They help children learn how to follow actions and identify parts of their body. n Staff plan experiences children may not get elsewhere. They teach children how

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need to do better?

to use tools such as screwdrivers to build new wheelbarrows they have purchased. Pre-school children develop their hand muscles and hand-to-eye coordination. n Overall, staff interact well with children and support them to develop their

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need to do better?

6 April 2022 communication skills. Staff discuss with two-year-old children what they are doing as they pretend to make medicine with coloured water. Staff ask what is in their medicine. They encourage them to use vocabulary including 'secret ingredient' and 'headache'. However, high-quality interactions with children are not consistent across the staff team. At times, staff ask questions that are too direct and use language that is too complex for some children. This does not help children to practise speaking or develop their understanding of what words mean. n On the whole, children behave well and develop close friendships. Staff remind children to say 'please' and 'thank you' when responding to others. Children know and happily follow familiar routines of the day. Staff praise children for 'good listening' and for patiently waiting their turn to have a go on the slide. However, occasionally, staff do not make it clear to children what they expect of

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need to do better?

them. Staff do not always stop unwanted behaviour. On occasions, they do not explain to children why they should not throw resources or take them from other children without asking. n Leaders and managers are passionate about developing the staff team. Staff of all levels undertake a broad range of training opportunities. The manager works alongside staff daily and models high-quality practice. Leaders meet with staff regularly to evaluate the setting and plan how to implement new ideas. n Staff work effectively alongside parents and carers on all aspects of children's development. Parents comment that staff care for children like they are their own family. They say that staff provide age-appropriate learning opportunities on death, divorce and other topics children may not learn about elsewhere.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff have a thorough and broad knowledge of how to keep children safe from harm. Staff and leaders know the children and families well. They demonstrate a good understanding of the signs and symptoms that a child may be at risk of harm. They are confident in fulfilling their responsibilities, including reporting any concerns to other professionals, such as social services. The site is secure and there are clear visitor procedures in place, including checking identification. Staff check the environment regularly to ensure that it is a safe place for children to play. They continually assess risks to minimise any possible hazards. Leaders have an effective recruitment process in place and continuously monitor the suitability of everyone working directly with children.

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should:

n strengthen staff's understanding of how to manage children's behaviour

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should:

6 April 2022 effectively and consistently n improve the consistency of staff's interactions to further develop children's understanding and communication skills.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY422483 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 10138594 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 56 Number of children on roll 53 Name of registered person The Tree House Children's Centre

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reference number

Telephone number 01790763246 Date of previous inspection 18 November 2015

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Information about this early years setting

The Tree House Children's Centre registered in 2011. The centre employs 12 members of childcare staff. Of these, nine hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and above. The centre opens from Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 8am until 5.30pm. The centre provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the setting received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in the evaluation of the setting. n The manager and the inspector had a learning walk together. They discussed the learning intentions for children and how the environment is arranged. n The manager and the inspector observed and evaluated an activity. n The inspector observed staff and children of all ages at the setting. n The inspector held discussions with staff and leaders regularly during the inspection. n Parents' and carers' views were taken account of by the inspector. n A sample of documents was reviewed, including paediatric first-aid certificates, evidence of suitability checks, and safeguarding policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

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Inspection activities

6 April 2022 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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