Arlesey Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily at the pre-school; friendly staff greet them at the door and children separate easily from their parents. They are gaining strong independence skills, such as children sort out their belongings and know what to do to self-register. The key-person system is strong. Children seek out their key person for a quick cuddle or to share their pictures with. Staff are always available for these positive interactions and this helps children to feel secure. Children's skills are developing well. They receive consistent praise and encouragement from adults. Children are keen to help their peers, for instance they model how to use scissors to cut on a line.

Children are learning well as they work through a well-planned sequenced curriculum. Staff know what they want children to learn and the steps they need to work through to achieve vital skills for moving on to school. Children are motivated to try new things and have a go. They persevere in completing puzzles and show pride in their achievements. Children benefit from spending time outdoors. They are active and are learning to use their large muscles for pedalling tricycles and playing football. Children work together on tasks such as building. They discuss their ideas and what role they will play in the building process. Children play together very well and their behaviour is good.

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

• Staff take time to get to know children and their families when they first join the pre-school. They use the information they gain to help them understand and plan for children's individual care and learning needs. Ongoing information sharing with parents enables staff to keep their knowledge of children and families current. As a result, children are supported to make consistently good progress.
• Staff provide good support for children's communication and language development. For example, they sit alongside children in the book area to read stories and children join in. Children are gaining confidence in speaking at group times and are keen to express their thoughts and ideas. These good opportunities help children to become confident talkers.
• Children are learning about each other and how their families are in some ways the same and in other ways different to their friend's. One way they do this is through sharing family books. Children compare photographs of their families and discuss who people are. This results in children comparing and celebrating their similarities and differences.
• Staff support children to enhance their mathematical language and knowledge. For example, they encourage children to talk about the shapes they make out of dough. Children show they are learning how to sequence higher numbers. For example, when they talk about the day's date they confidently express what number was before and what will come next.
• Parent's comments about the pre-school and staff are positive. They state they feel well informed about their children's development and know how to support their learning at home. Parents say children benefit from having the same key person throughout their time at the pre-school. This helps their children feel secure as the key person knows and understands them as individuals.
• Children are developing into independent learners and demonstrate that they enjoy the activities provided. They move around the different learning areas with confidence, seeking out what they want to do next. However, the routine for snack time is too rigid. This results in children loosing learning time as they wait around for snack, but there is not room for them at the table.
• The staff team is very well established, and turnover is low. Despite this, the provider has robust recruitment procedures in place to help ensure staff are suitable to work with children. Staff report they are supported well by the provider and that their well-being is good. There are some systems in place to support staff's practice and to help them develop further, such as through supervision meetings. However, leaders do not yet fully support staff to expand their individual skills, such as through observations of practice and tailored ongoing professional development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the organisation of snack time to ensure children remain engaged in learning and activity
• develop further opportunities to extend staff's knowledge and practice to an even higher level.