Earlycare

Earlycare

Unique reference number (URN): 2770130 Address: Eccleshall Community Centre, Shaws Lane, Eccleshall, Staffordshire, ST21 6AU Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 23/01/2024 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Bull, Hannah

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have established a fully inclusive culture where all children's individual needs are identified early and supported effectively. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may face other barriers to their learning. Staff use ongoing observation and assessment to recognise emerging needs, including developmental delays and communication differences, and take timely action to provide targeted support. Leaders ensure that appropriate adaptations are in place, such as sensory play, activities that develop small muscle control, and the use of visual supports and signing to promote communication and independence.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders follow a clear process to identify needs, put support in place, and review how well it is working. Support is adapted over time, with clear evidence that children make progress from their starting points. Staff use children's interests to engage them in learning, and adaptations are purposeful and well matched to children's needs.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders use additional funding effectively, such as for providing enrichment activities and targeted adult support, to enhance provision and widen access to experiences. They enable children who may be disadvantaged to participate fully alongside their peers.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders work in partnership with parents and engage with external professionals to shape support and provision. Communication with families supports consistency between home and the setting. Leaders also support children known to children's social care, working with other agencies to monitor and respond to their needs.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Practice is consistent across the setting and support is well embedded in daily provision. Therefore, inclusive practice is highly effective and has a consistently positive impact on children's progress, engagement and access to the full curriculum.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children make progress across the curriculum from their starting points, particularly in communication and language. They develop vocabulary through interactions with staff and opportunities to talk about their experiences. Children also build early mathematical understanding and physical skills through planned activities that support coordination, control and problem-solving. However, opportunities to consistently extend children's thinking and deepen their ideas are not yet fully embedded across the setting.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those known (or previously known) to children's social care, or who may face other barriers to learning are supported to achieve well alongside their peers. Appropriate and effective partnership working and monitoring help to ensure their needs are understood and addressed, and targeted strategies and adaptations help them to make progress over time.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop confidence to take part and build new skills, such as sharing and turn- taking. These skills, alongside their developing communication and self-care, help to support their readiness for the next stage of learning, including the move to school.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders successfully promote regular attendance and maintain communication with parents, supporting children to engage in daily routines. Children form positive relationships with practitioners, which helps them feel secure and supports their engagement with others. They learn to share, take turns, and cooperate during activities, developing early social skills.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Staff consider children's ages, stages of development and individual needs when supporting their behaviour. In parts of the setting, staff support children to follow routines and understand expectations for behaviour well. They adapt their approaches for children who need additional support, helping them to take part alongside their peers. However, children do not all experience this consistently across the setting. At times, staff focus on tasks rather than interacting with children and do not organise routines effectively. This means that some children wait for extended periods, lose focus, and become unsettled. Staff do not always apply behaviour expectations consistently, so children do not receive clear messages about what is expected, which affects their engagement and understanding of routines.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children typically experience caring and responsive relationships with practitioners. Babies are soothed with cuddles and follow familiar routines, while older children seek reassurance from staff when needed. These relationships support children's emotional wellbeing and sense of security.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff generally meet children's individual care needs through established routines. Sleeping and feeding arrangements reflect children's needs and support continuity from home. Staff respond appropriately to children's health needs. For example, they recognise when children show signs of discomfort and take prompt action, which helps to keep children safe and well. However, at times, staff do not consistently meet children's comfort and care needs. For example, when staff do not attend to children's personal care needs, such as wiping noses, this can affect how comfortable children feel.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children develop physical confidence through opportunities to explore, climb, and balance, supported by staff who encourage safe risk taking. They begin to understand aspects of health and safety through everyday experiences.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children are supported to recognise and manage their emotions. Staff provide comfort and reassurance, helping children to regulate their feelings and remain engaged.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have a suitable understanding of the curriculum and the quality of teaching. They prioritise children's independence, communication, and understanding of the world, and recognise where further development is needed to strengthen consistency in practice.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The curriculum is appropriately designed to meet the learning and development requirements of the early years foundation stage. Staff plan activities based on children's interests and next steps, helping to make learning meaningful and engaging. For example, they support children's understanding of the world through themed activities, such as learning about the world around them and how to care for our planet. Children's early mathematical development is supported through activities that involve counting and sorting, and modelling language such as number, size, and quantity.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children's physical development and personal, social and emotional development are prioritised. Staff support children to develop coordination and control through planned activities and provide guidance to build confidence and independence. Positive relationships underpin learning and support children to engage and participate.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff use assessment well to understand what children know and can do, and adapt their teaching accordingly, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning. Adaptations, such as changes to resources and targeted support, ensure that all children are able to fully access the curriculum. However, teaching is not yet consistent across the setting. At times, questioning does not extend children's thinking, and children are not always given sufficient time to respond or develop their ideas further.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate a clear understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for development. They respond appropriately when issues arise, such as reviewing and updating procedures and risk assessments, and providing refresher training to staff.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders show a clear commitment to sustained improvement. They make decisions that support children's safety and wellbeing, and use additional funding to enhance provision and support children who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities, helping them to access learning and make progress. The ongoing development of the outdoor area to increase opportunities for play and enable babies to access the garden safely alongside older children is a current priority.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders maintain a visible presence in rooms and provide day-to-day guidance and informal support to staff, taking account of staff wellbeing. However, systems to monitor practice and support staff development are not fully embedded. Supervision and training are not consistently structured, which limits leaders' ability to identify and address variations in practice across the setting. Leaders recognise the need to strengthen supervision so they can better support staff, improve consistency in practice, and secure better outcomes for children.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children experience a caring and inclusive environment where they feel safe and develop secure relationships with staff. They are greeted warmly, settle quickly into familiar routines, and seek comfort from trusted adults when needed. Babies are soothed with cuddles and reassurance, while older children engage confidently with staff and their peers. Children benefit from effective partnerships with parents and/or carers, which help staff understand their routines, preferences and individual needs so they feel secure and valued from the outset. Children attend regularly and arrive ready to learn, helping them to benefit fully from the broad range of experiences on offer.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children show curiosity and enjoyment in their learning. They engage enthusiastically in activities such as vet role play, stacking and balancing blocks, and exploring the outdoor environment. Children respond excitedly to real-life experiences, for example watching the bin lorry arrive or taking part in walks to look for animals, which deepen their understanding through books and discussion. Children develop communication, early mathematical understanding and physical skills, for instance when they use tweezers to sort objects by colour or climb and balance outdoors. They show confidence, sustain attention and cooperate well with others through sharing and turn-taking.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children benefit from activities that are planned around their interests and next steps in learning. They are supported effectively through staff modelling, interaction and encouragement. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who face barriers to learning are included well. They benefit from consistent strategies, such as visual aids and signing, which help them communicate, participate and succeed alongside their peers.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children behave well and show positive attitudes to learning. They develop key skills through warm relationships, meaningful interactions and a broad range of experiences that support their confidence, independence and emotional wellbeing.

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Next steps

Leaders should strengthen staff practice so that questioning consistently deepens children's thinking and provides appropriate challenge, enabling children to develop knowledge and skills more fully. Leaders should embed clear and consistent expectations for behaviour and care routines across all rooms so that children experience predictable, well-organised environments that support their engagement and wellbeing. Leaders should establish regular, structured supervision and monitoring to identify variations in practice and support staff to deliver consistently high-quality provision across the setting.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the manager and the co-manager/special educational needs coordinator, children, staff and parents during the inspection.

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About this inspection

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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Address:

Eccleshall Community Centre Shaws Lane Eccleshall Staffordshire ST21 6AU

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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