Spring - Layfield

Inspection of Spring - Layfield Layfield Primary School, Everingham Road, Yarm TS15 9TF

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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 Good

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The provision is good

Staff provide a very warm and welcoming setting for children. All children are happy and settled. They form good relationships with staff and their peers. The key-person system is very effective, and all staff know the children in their care very well. This enables staff to plan an ambitious curriculum indoors and outdoors for each child. Staff also ensure that they adhere to babies' individual eating and sleeping patterns, which ensures that they settle quickly.

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The provision is good

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Staff work with other professionals to ensure that children receive additional help where needed. For example, they welcome speech and language therapists and physiotherapists into the setting and appreciate their professional guidance and ideas.

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The provision is good

Staff are good role models and have high expectations of children's learning and behaviour. Staff consistently promote children's personal, social and emotional development during different activities and throughout the daily routine. For example, they gently and sensitively remind children about the rules in the setting, such as sharing and taking turns. Staff also encourage and praise children's good manners. As a result, children are well behaved and the environment is calm, friendly and happy.

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need to do better?

n Staff are very skilled at including as many of the different areas of learning as possible into each activity to accelerate children's learning. For example, during a physical exercise activity, staff include positional language and spatial awareness, which supports children's early mathematical skills. They also introduce literacy and communication and language. Staff help children to learn about the effects that exercise, rest and drinking water have on their bodies and why they are important. n Staff ensure that children have regular opportunities to learn about and understand the world around them. They arrange for visitors to come to the setting, such as nurses, police officers, and dental hygienists, which has helped to promote children's learning. Children receive healthy and nutritious meals and snacks. Staff encourage children to brush their teeth at the setting. Children thoroughly enjoy visits to an allotment and discuss the seeds they have planted

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need to do better?

and nurtured. n Staff are very skilled at linking activities to extend and build on what children already know. For example, when outdoors, children show an interest in collecting leaves. Staff use children's interest to help them to identify similarities and differences and discuss size, shape, colour and shade.

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need to do better?

23 May 2024 n Children have a very good attitude to their learning. They are confident, busy and persevere well with tasks. For example, babies repeatedly scoop sand between two different-size spoons. This helps to promote their physical development, hand-eye coordination, and concentration skills. Older children laugh as they quickly try to make a ball shape from 'melting' gloop. n Staff work well in partnership with parents and carers, other professionals, and the on-site school. They work closely with parents to support children's personal development. For example, staff offer advice and information for weaning and potty training. n Staff provide parents with ideas about how to enhance their child's learning at home. For example, they provide recipe ideas, including for play dough, instructions on how to make musical instruments and carry out 'sound walks', and ideas for mathematics and literacy activities. However, the progress checks

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need to do better?

that they complete when children are aged between two and three years do not include information for parents about the activities and strategies they may adopt at home in order to address any gaps in their children's learning. n Leadership and management are good. Leaders consider and support staff's well-being. Staff-to-child ratios are sometimes above minimum recommendations and are maintained at other times throughout the day, including at mealtimes. However, staff's lunch breaks sometimes coincide with children's eating times. This means that there are less staff to support children with their self-care skills and independence. n Staff have a good attitude towards professional development. They complete various training courses, including forest school training and supporting children's speech and language.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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should:

n enhance the information that is shared with parents, for example, by including activities and strategies that parents may adopt at home in the progress check completed when children are aged between two and three years, in order to support any gaps in their child's learning n consider the daily routine and staff breaks, for example, so that more staff are available to support children with their self-care skills and independence.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY539469 Local authority Stockton-on-Tees Inspection number 10346901 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 48 Number of children on roll 144 Name of registered person Action For Children Developments Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 01642 787671 Date of previous inspection 22 August 2018

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Information about this early years setting

Spring - Layfield registered in 2016. It is independently run and is situated within Layfield Primary School in Yarm. The setting employs 15 members of childcare staff. Of these, two apprentices are working towards appropriate early years qualifications at levels 2 and 3, nine staff have qualifications at level 3, two staff have a childcare degree, two staff hold early years professional status, and one member of staff has an early years initial teacher training qualification. The setting opens from Monday to Friday all year round. Opening times are from 7.30am until 6pm, and children can attend different sessions throughout the day. The setting 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 provider 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 their evaluation of the provider. n The manager and senior staff joined the inspector on a learning walk and talked to the inspector about their curriculum and what they want children to learn. n Children told the inspector about their friends and what they like to do when they are at the setting. n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact on children's learning. n The manager and the inspector carried out a joint observation of a communication and language activity. n The inspector talked to staff at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector spoke with the manager about the leadership and management of

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Inspection activities

the setting. n The inspector spoke to several parents during the inspection and took account of their views. Some parents shared their views of the setting in writing. n The inspector looked at relevant documentation and reviewed evidence of the suitability of staff working in the setting.

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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

23 May 2024 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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