Blossom Barn Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive at this extremely welcoming, inclusive and nurturing pre-school. Staff provide a variety of high-quality learning experiences and always demonstrate the utmost care and respect for children. Staff have an insightful understanding of every child. They use this well to enable children to feel, happy, secure and safe. As a result, children form strong bonds with staff and settle with ease. Staff are excellent role models and have high expectations of children. This motivates children to always use good manners and enthusiastically help to tidy away what they have finished playing with.

Children show exceptional positive attitudes to learning. This is because staff adapt the environment and their teaching to reflect children's evolving interests and extend their learning. Children are highly imaginative. They pretend to fly to Mars in the outdoor science station that is transformed in to a rocket. Children delight in sharing their knowledge of the solar system with the inspector and their friends. They show high levels of perseverance when they find something challenging. For example, when learning how to push themselves along on a balance bike using the tips of their toes, children do not give up even if this is hard for them. They feel pride when staff explain how proud they are of them for persevering. Children benefit from many outings that enrich their understanding of the wider world. They travel on a bus to a local airport where they learn about the processes in place for security. Staff enhance children's mathematical knowledge, such as the concept of time as they help them to work out the frequency of buses.

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

• Highly dedicated leaders and the passionate staff team have designed their own precise, broad and ambitious curriculum that is superbly tailored to meet each child's learning needs. They place a high priority on planning and implementing exciting and inspirational experiences that successfully embed core skills. For instance, children regularly interact and walk the pre-school's therapy dogs, Bodee and Bear. This has a positive impact on supporting children to flourish in their confidence. Children are highly resilient individuals who are exceptionally prepared for their future education.
• Staff successfully support children to be articulate communicators. They carefully choose focus books and songs to extend children's vocabulary and language skills. The pre-school is alive with a buzz of children singing songs and rich discussions between staff and children. Staff develop children's love of books. The cosy book corner is a sanctuary for children to relax and look at familiar books on their own and with friends. Children eagerly express how stories are formed and use complex sentences. For example, they roll wooden cubes one by one, each displaying different pictures and characters, and take great delight in telling their own stories, skilfully incorporating the images on the cubes.
• Children's independence and understanding of a healthy lifestyle is superb. They effortlessly manage their own personal needs from a young age. Children eagerly brush their teeth on arrival and know how to safely handle a knife to prepare a varied range of fruits for snack. Staff always encourage children to try exotic fruits to broaden their tastes. Children show confidence to continue their play, knowing they can join snack when they are ready or help themselves to the bowl of fruit. They have an excellent understanding of where food comes from. Children visit a local farm to observe cows being milked. Staff skilfully extend their understanding of foods that contain milk. Children persevere to make their own butter from milk by vigorously shaking it in a sealed container.
• Children's behaviour and respect for others is exemplary. Staff prioritise supporting children to build a strong sense of character. They provide them with sensitive reminders of the pre-school's agreed positive affirmations. This means that children have high levels of self-esteem and develop a habit of positive thinking. All children play harmoniously together sharing resources and pay attention to each other's needs. For example, they notice that some of their friends do not have a bowl to scoop rice, they take the initiative to collect some from the enticing role-play area and share these with them.
• Parent partnerships are extremely strong. Staff ensure that parents are actively engaged in every aspect of their child's care and learning and provide exceptional support for any changes in children's lives. Parents are welcomed to regular meetings with their child's key person and receive frequent updates on an online portal. They talk very positively about leaders and staff. Parents describe them as 'fantastic' and are overjoyed with the progress their children are making.
• Inspirational leaders are excellent role models for staff. They work diligently with the staff team to reflect on their own practice and share new knowledge and skills. Staff receive an abundance of professional development opportunities which are consistently targeted to meet the individual needs of children. This supports staff to implement excellent practice. Leaders welcome professionals to visit the pre-school where they share ideas to help improve outcomes for other children. Leaders speak highly of staff, which they value enormously. Staff are enthusiastic and proud of their roles. They appreciate how their well-being is thoroughly considered. They have access to a mental health champion and specialised external support, available 24 hours a day should they wish to access this.