All Saints Pre-school

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

On arrival, children receive an extremely warm welcome from the kind and caring staff. It is evident that they feel very safe, happy and secure at the nurturing pre-school. Children learn and play in an extremely stimulating environment and receive good support from staff to develop their knowledge and skills. Staff are very positive role models. They have high expectations for children's learning and behaviour, and children are taught about expectations and boundaries in a very positive way. As a result, children behave very well and have a positive approach towards learning and new experiences.

Children show great interest in exploring colourful rice. They enjoy discussing different colours and shapes and using mathematical language, such as 'empty' and 'full'. Children also have fun participating in firework painting. Staff support them effectively to discuss the patterns they create and their knowledge of fireworks. Furthermore, children concentrate well as they experiment with play dough. Staff skilfully ask them about their intentions and demonstrate how to mould and shape different models. This helps to develop their fine motor skills and imagination.

Children have excellent opportunities to learn outdoors in a spacious and well-resourced space. Children enjoy exploring herbs in the mud kitchen and discussing planting and growth when exploring seeds and soil. This helps to develop their curiosity and learn about nature and the wider world.

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

• The pre-school is run by two very experienced, knowledgeable and passionate leaders. They are extremely committed to supporting children and families to achieve positive outcomes. The leaders regularly liaise with parents to inform them about local services that can give them additional support. They create a wonderful sense of community and are highly attentive to families' differing needs.
• There is an excellent settling process in place, where staff invest time to get to know children and families. They carry out early assessments with parents to understand children's strengths and areas for development. Staff then use this information to plan an exciting and engaging curriculum to meet the needs of individual children based on their interests and any gaps in their learning. It is evident that children make very good progress and enjoy their time at the pre-school.
• Children benefit from a rich language environment that supports their communication skills in an effective way. Staff are good at commentating on children's play and asking open questions to extend their thinking skills further.
• Staff invite parents to participate in borough-run language programmes to ensure children's language development is also fully promoted at home. Furthermore, children benefit from storytelling sessions from outside specialists and enjoy singing songs and exploring props with staff that make singing interactive and enjoyable.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive excellent support and care. Staff work closely with families and other professionals to devise and review individual learning plans to help children move forward with their learning. This supports children to gain confidence and ensures they receive good levels of continuity in their care and education.
• Parents are very complimentary about their experiences at the pre-school. They state that staff are very attentive and kind, and feel their children are very happy.
• Staff give verbal updates and share information with parents via monthly newsletters and by sending children's journals home on a termly basis. However, parents do not receive comprehensive daily information that provides greater insight into their child's individual learning on a more regular basis.
• Children have excellent opportunities to learn about different cultures and backgrounds. Staff arrange a vast variety of celebrations and events to help children to understand about their similarities and differences. Staff are excellent at supporting children to develop respectful attitudes about other people's lives that are different to their own.
• Staff have very good opportunities to engage in ongoing professional development. This supports them to keep their knowledge up to date and creates a culture of ongoing improvement at the pre-school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on ways to keep parents more reguarly informed about their children's learning and the activities they participate in each day.