Barham Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet children with enthusiasm as they arrive, taking a genuine interest in the children and their families. Children enjoy voting for the story they would like to hear later in the day by placing a stone next to their chosen book. This supports them to come in happily and they settle quickly to the many exciting resources on offer. Staff create a safe and nurturing environment where children are happy to explore and have fun.

Staff listen to children and take into account their views about what they would like to learn. Staff then plan creative activities to support children to explore and investigate their chosen topics. For example, children recently asked to learn about flowers and growing. Children excitedly look to see how much their bean plants have grown and carefully water the flowers outside, learning about what they need to thrive. This supports children's feelings of self-worth and their focus and interest in the topics being taught.

Children have access to a good-quality curriculum through the wide variety of exciting activities and experiences provided. Staff foster children's inquisitive nature and regularly provide books and use tablets together to further their understanding and knowledge. They have warm relationships with the children and support them to build good peer friendships. For example, children enjoy turn-taking games and working together as a team to build a den outdoors. Children learn to become independent, as staff model new skills for them and shower them with praise. Staff provide a well-rounded curriculum where children learn to be curious, confident, respectful and kind to others.

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

• The new management team leads the setting successfully and has a strong team of staff who work well together. A range of new working initiatives have been successfully applied, including changes to curriculum planning. Staff have been well informed of these changes. They are good at identifying and implementing the intended learning for adult-led activities to ensure all children make good progress. However, on occasion, staff are less confident in how to plan and support precise, targeted next steps in learning for some children. This means that, at times, children do not receive specific enough support to rapidly close any gaps identified in their learning.
• Staff sequence the curriculum so that children can explore, practise and learn new skills. They frequently encourage children to recall previous learning, check children's understanding and help them learn more over time. For example, children excitedly remember the words 'tadpole', 'froglet' and 'frog' when reading stories about the frog life cycle. Staff expertly extend this knowledge later in the day, introducing new concepts such as 'what is an amphibian?' Children show great pride in their new learning and rush to staff to tell them what they have found out.
• Children develop good problem-solving skills. Staff use open-ended questions to support their thinking. For instance, children relish in creating their own design for building a den. Staff then encourage children to think for themselves about how to build it, including what materials to use and how to make it big enough. This promotes children's natural curiosity and builds a love of learning.
• Staff are good role models for children. They build warm relationships with children that are built on respect and kindness. They often support children to play with each other and to listen to each other's ideas. For example, children giggle together as they make pretend pizza and cakes with mud and flowers.
• Staff give children plenty of opportunities to take part in group learning experiences, ready for moving on to school. They are clear with their expectations for behaviour, such as listening to each other, sitting well and being involved. Most children thoroughly enjoy these group times and grasp the learning well. However, sometimes, staff do not fully consider the needs of the younger children, who find it hard to focus their attention for longer periods. This means some children lose interest and become distracted.
• Parents speak positively about the nursery and staff. They say that their children enjoy attending and that the staff are kind and caring. Staff are good at creating a two-way flow of information with parents, where ideas to support learning at home are consistently shared.
• Leadership works closely together to strive to provide all children with the best environment and learning experiences they can. Leaders are highly supportive of their staff. Staff feel listened to and empowered to contribute their own ideas. The whole team is ambitious and motivated. The team members work together to provide high-quality care and education for all children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide further support for staff to build their confidence and knowledge to help all children receive any targeted support they need to close gaps in their learning
• strengthen the organisation of group times so that all children, particularly the younger ones, remain focussed and engaged in their learning.