Bamford Pre-School Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children very much enjoy exploring and investigating the activities and toys on offer at pre-school. They experiment and succeed in mixing coloured liquids using pipettes and syringes. Staff provide this activity to help children develop good hand control, working towards being able to hold a pencil. Staff found that children struggle with holding a pencil following COVID-19 lockdown periods.

Children watch and learn from staff who model how to negotiate with each other during play and how to share and take turns. This shows quieter children how they can join in play with others. Three- and four-year-old children form firm friendships. Children respond positively to the challenges that staff present them with. For example, children who are reluctant to venture in areas such as the muddy area, are enticed by staff who use some of the children's favourite toys to encourage them in. Children enjoy these new experiences and learn that it is safe to take these risks with support from adults.

Children enjoy stories that are read to them by staff, who use their voices to capture children's attention. Children become enthralled by familiar stories and join in with familiar phrases from the 'story of the week'. They shout out 'a squash and a squeeze' when the staff member pauses for them to join in.

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

• The manager and management committee have worked together well since the last inspection. They have taken positive action to address the weaknesses that were identified. Staff now have a better understanding of potential risks to children. In particular, they know how to help children to stay safe when taking part in online activity, such as playing games. Parents also have access to information about online safety to help with educating children at home.
• Staff know the children well. They understand how each child prefers to learn and what the children's special interests are. Staff use this knowledge to provide opportunities for children to develop their skills and understanding of the world around them. For example, staff talk to children about 'fast' and 'slow', and help children to notice how a truck moves differently on flat ground and a slope. However, there are times when staff do not give children enough time to think for themselves. For example, when staff ask a question, they occasionally provide the answer to the child.
• Staff recognise that some children have had little social time away from their home and parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff have taken great care to help parents to settle children into pre-school. Children enter the pre-school with confidence and quickly settle to play.
• Parents are pleased with the help and support they and their children receive from the pre-school. Parents comment that since attending pre-school, their children have gained confidence. They say their children's communication, language and understanding have improved noticeably.
• Staff provide children with a wide range of opportunities to be active. Children play outdoors in a safely enclosed area. This includes steps and slopes, challenging children to move and negotiate these features safely. Staff provide equipment to enhance children's outdoor learning and further help their physical development. For instance, children use spades and containers to dig in the muddy area.
• The committee understands its responsibilities. It actively supports and monitors the staff. Staff have regular meetings with the manager. New staff have a thorough induction, which includes mandatory training, such as safeguarding, safety, and equality and diversity. There is a positive approach to staff development to enhance the learning experiences for children. For example, one staff member is forest-school trained. Children now access forest-school sessions where they learn how to use tools safely.
• Staff model to children how to play and use equipment. They repeat what they do and say so that children can watch, listen and copy. They help children to explore new experiences and explain how things work. For example, after watching a staff member, a two-year-old child who was new to the setting could roll play dough into a ball and cut a dough sausage using scissors. Older, more-experienced children use rolling pins and shape cutters with skill and control. This demonstrates that children have opportunities to practise and develop their skills.
• Some games designed to help children to develop their understanding of sounds and rhymes are not appropriate. One game used unfamiliar names for objects. For example, a trolley was labelled as a waggon. This limits the learning that children experience as they could not find the picture for the rhyming word, which was a dragon.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff understanding of how to use questions to enhance children's learning, so that children have the opportunity to think and respond before an adult answers for them
• review the suitability of resources, particularly games to support children's understanding of words and sounds, so that they are appropriate to the children's knowledge and do not adversely affect the learning opportunity.