Barnabas Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish in this incredibly calm and nurturing pre-school. They arrive full of enthusiasm and smiles, bursting to tell staff their exciting news. An excellent settling-in procedure supports children to form strong bonds with staff. As a result, children feel safe and secure and display a great sense of belonging. Children demonstrate exceptional behaviour and are courteous towards their friends and staff. They confidently explore their surroundings, which ignites their curiosity and motivation to learn. The manager and staff plan a meticulously well-sequenced curriculum, which offers children superb learning experiences that are consistently built on and tailored to their specific needs.

The pre-school is a hive of activity. Everywhere you look, children are actively engaged in an exciting range of activities. Children watch in awe as water flows down the tube. When the water slows down and stops, children become very inquisitive. Staff use effective questioning techniques that support children's problem-solving. As a result, children's thirst for new learning ignites as they discover how gravity works.

Staff use their passion and expert knowledge of nature to enrich children's learning. Children become captivated as they watch worms move through the soil and look through magnifying glasses to search for more worms. They excitedly exclaim that the worms are 'moving slowly'. Staff encourage children's thinking through discussion, such as by asking 'what worm is this?'. Children share their thoughts and ideas and say a 'wireworm', recalling past knowledge.

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

• The leadership and management of the pre-school is inspirational. The manager and dedicated staff continually strive for excellence. Their passion for making sure that every child receives the best care and education is infectious. The quality of teaching across this inclusive setting is exemplary. The pre-school uses additional funding to ensure that all children have access to the curriculum.
• Staff focus on providing children with meaningful learning opportunities to help them to learn about their local community. For example, they visit the local market. They explore the nature reserve, where they trek through the woods and observe the changes in the seasons. Staff involve children in all aspects of their exciting adventures and support them to think about and plan their journey. This helps to ignite children's interest in the wider world.
• Children are highly imaginative. They pretend to be shopkeepers and say to staff 'that is four pence please'. Staff listen to children's ideas and thoughts as they express an interest in making a walkie-talkie as they pretend to be a police officer. Children have a can-do attitude as they make their walkie-talkies using a box and paper. They tell staff 'it needs an aerial' and place a small stick on the top of the box.
• Staff have incredibly high expectations of children. They promote children's independence as an integral part of the curriculum. Staff have a 'helper of the day' who is responsible for particular tasks, such as ringing the bell at the start of the session and counting the children. Children relish the opportunity to help staff and each other. For instance, children wash their plates at mealtimes. They also show a superb sense of responsibility as they conscientiously help to tidy away their toys at the end of the day.
• Staff skilfully weave mathematics through activities for all age groups of children. Younger children enjoy number rhymes and use their fingers to help them count as they sing. They learn about 'full' and 'empty' as they play in the water tray. Older children show great pride as they master mathematical concepts of addition and subtraction. They discuss that one less than four is three and one more than four is five.
• The tremendously skilled staff make stories fully interactive as they use puppets and prompts to bring stories to life. Staff read with motivating clarity and expression. Children greatly enjoy repeating key phrases, such as 'I sent it back' and 'he was perfect' from the 'Dear Zoo' story. They actively revisit stories and can recall them with great joy. Staff introduce new vocabulary, such as 'bumpy' and 'fierce'.
• Partnerships with parents are exceptional. Parents comment that the home visits are amazing as they help to develop a trusting relationship between staff and children. They highlight that the dedicated and knowledgeable staff deliver outstanding care and education. Parents say that the well-being of the children is at the forefront of the pre-school. They say that it is 'such a wonderful environment for children to thrive in'.