Ben Rhydding Pre-School Playgroup Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this pre-school. They play together harmoniously and concentrate for extended periods in the calm and purposeful atmosphere. This is due to the dedicated work of the highly skilled staff team. Every staff member takes time to interact sensitively with each child, supporting them to extend their thinking and ideas. Staff consistently provide children with immediate feedback about their work. This helps children to review their work and be ambitious, thinking about how they could improve it. Staff praise children when they do the right thing. This means that children are keen to take care of each other, the environment and the resources.

Children hold long, thoughtful conversations, using a wide and increasingly complex range of vocabulary. Staff skilfully support children's emerging interests and fascinations. This helps children to be determined, persevere and deepen their understanding. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are fully immersed in the daily life of the pre-school. They make strong progress. This is due to the excellent, personalised support they receive from the staff. Children have a zest for learning and they are ready to move on to school and the wider world. They are happy, settled and motivated learners.

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

• Children immerse themselves in highly meaningful play. They develop interesting story plots as they pretend to be builders. They dig trenches and find objects they can use for pipes, burying them under the sand. Older children build complex structures and successfully attach a roof. All this is enabled because of the astute staff team supporting language and thinking all of the time. This means that children continually challenge themselves, test out their ideas and make progress in understanding concepts.
• Staff frequently develop children's mathematical language and problem-solving skills. Older children confidently count to 10 and beyond and identify numerals accurately. They accurately count out items from a larger group. When children show an interest in comparing heights, staff suggest using a tape measure to develop mathematical skills. Younger children begin to match objects and learn number songs. This helps them to learn the order of numbers and the value numbers hold.
• Children demonstrate that they love books. They snuggle in with staff and share stories frequently, listening intently. Children make predictions about what could happen next and ask questions, linking their ideas to the real world. They develop their reading skills as they recall and sequence familiar stories.
• The curriculum is varied and provides children with opportunities to find out about cultures, backgrounds and religions that are different to their own.
• Leaders monitor children's progress accurately and ensure children's next steps are precisely identified and planned for.
• Children's ability to deal with setbacks and manage their own feelings is excellent. Staff rarely need to interject in behaviour management because they have taught the children to regulate their own behaviour so well. Some children even support others to manage their behaviour. For example, when a child finds it difficult to share as they play with tractors, another child supports them. Children who have developed stronger physical skills support others to dig objects out of the sand. When children use sticking tape, the most able children model what to do and demonstrate how best to apply it. This peer advice further supports younger children to better apply their knowledge and skills.
• Children carry out many tasks independently. They put on their own shoes and socks, wash their hands, pour drinks and chop fruit. Tidy-up time is valued and used as a teaching time to develop independence and responsibility. Children use a dustpan and brush very well to clear up and check the area to make sure it is clean. Children understand the established routines and flourish as a result.
• Parents are delighted with the progress their children make. They appreciate the way staff help children to make sense of upsetting family events, such as bereavements. They speak enthusiastically about the way that staff support and include children with SEND.
• Leaders have developed a wonderful team of staff who work together for the benefit of children. Staff say they love working in this pre-school. Leaders provide staff with targeted training to improve their skills in certain areas, such as supporting learning for children with autism. This, in turn, supports children's development and skills.