Alderbury Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and excited for their day at pre-school. Staff make time for parents when they drop off their children, giving them the opportunity to talk to and share information about their children. Staff are well informed and able to meet children's needs. Children enter the playroom with confidence and seek favourite activities to engage with. They are safe and secure in the pre-school environment.

The provider and staff work closely together to construct and deliver a broad and inclusive curriculum. Staff in the baby room support children to develop their strength, ready for walking; babies cruise around low-level furniture and stand at table-top activities with confidence. Staff foster toddlers' love of literacy when they read them stories with excitement and enthusiasm. Staff provide older children with instructions for a music and movement activity to help them develop their listening and attention skills in preparation for school. Children are keen to engage and giggle with joy as they hold hands with friends and do the 'hokey cokey'.

The pre-school is an active part of the local community, helping children to learn about where they live. Staff take children on walks in the local woods and to visit the local parks. In spring, the pre-school children help hatch ducklings, which they then return to the local farm and visit on a regular basis to watch them grow. Staff support children to take care of the pre-school's guinea pigs. Children learn how to care for living creatures and get the opportunity to share this experience with their parents and carers at the weekend, when, if they wish, they can take the guinea pigs home to look after.

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

• The provider values the team members and provides them with regular opportunities to discuss their well-being and training needs at supervision sessions. Staff have weekly leadership meetings to discuss the children and plan for the weeks ahead to ensure children's needs are met. The provider delivers training at staff meetings to develop staff's practice. For example, the team has attended 'Dingley's Promise' training to help them begin to understand and successfully support all children's learning needs.
• Staff know all children and their families very well. They work closely with families and external professionals to get them the help they need. While staff await external input, they create and implement individual plans for children to help close gaps in learning. Children and their families are very well supported. Children make very good progress from their starting points.
• The provider and staff create strong partnerships with parents. Staff share daily updates on the online system, and provide verbal feedback to parents at the end of their child's session. Parents say that their children love to attend the setting and have good relationships with their key person.
• Staff begin to teach all children the expectations for behaviour. Older children work together to build a train track. When they encounter difficulties, staff support them to work together to resolve any issues. However, at times, staff do not use effective strategies to help older children understand the expectations for behaviour during group times. When children sit for a story and engage with activities as a group, staff do not use a consistent approach to help children learn the boundaries and understand the impact of their actions on others. Some children become distracted by others' behaviour and are not able to successfully engage with the learning on offer.
• Staff support children to lead healthy lifestyles. They provide children with healthy snacks and meals. Staff promote good oral hygiene. They use activities to engage children in discussions about the importance of cleaning their teeth and good food choices. Children thrive on daily access to fresh air and exercise to support their well-being and physical development.
• Staff plan the curriculum well to offer children a wide range of activities to support their learning needs. Staff help babies to complete simple puzzles to develop their small-muscle skills. Toddlers develop their sensory tolerance and social interactions when staff help them to dig in the sand and take turns with the resources. Staff develop older children's communication skills when they encourage them to recall their own experiences and share them with the group. However, staff do not always support those children who are less confident to be involved in activities. These children do not have consistent opportunities to build their confidence and to enhance their learning and development with help from staff.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to use consistent strategies to help children to understand the expectations and the impact of their behaviour on others
• help staff to offer consistent levels of support for those children who are less confident, to promote their participation and enhance their learning and development.