Blunsdon Pre-school LTD

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive with excitement ready for their day at pre-school. Staff make children feel welcome with their kind and nurturing manner. Children separate from parents with confidence, knowing familiar staff are close by for reassurance and comfort if needed. Children develop their independence. They hang up their belongings and eagerly choose activities to engage with. Children are safe and secure in the calming pre-school environment that staff create.

The manager and her team construct and implement an inclusive and ambitious curriculum, which they tailor to the needs of the children. They use a focus book as a theme, which they thread throughout all activities. Staff teach children about healthy eating and develop children's small hand muscles for early writing when they make fruit skewers for snack. Staff talk to children about the different fruits, and children excitedly link the activity to their focus book. Children learn to use knives when they cut up fruit and push fruit onto skewers. They are excited to engage in new activities and are confident to have a go.

Children are very respectful of their environment and display good behaviour. They enjoy exploring paint at the easel. When others attempt to join them, children remind each other that only one child can use the easel at a time. They respect each other and patiently wait for their turn. When staff announce it is tidy-up time, children work together eagerly to put away the toys and tidy their space.

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

• The manager is always reflecting on practice to ensure children make good progress and have positive learning experiences at pre-school. There are regular meetings to give the staff team the opportunity to discuss the curriculum, safeguarding practices and review children's learning. Recently, the manager and her staff have worked together to develop a new curriculum. This focuses on children's needs and incorporates their interests. Staff say that this is working well and that children are more engaged and have positive attitudes to learning.
• The support for all children is excellent. Staff use their knowledge of the children to create an inclusive and safe learning environment for them. They tailor their teaching to best meet the children's needs to help them engage with success. The manager quickly identifies if children need further support in their learning. She works closely with parents and makes timely referrals to ensure children and families can get the help they require.
• Staff provide children with a variety of opportunities to develop their physical skills in the outdoor environment. In the garden, children walk across stepping stones, splash in puddles and kick balls to one another. Staff take children on walks around the village and visits to local parks, where they support children to take safe risks on larger play equipment. Children learn to be safe outside the pre-school environment.
• Staff are good role models for children. They speak to children respectfully, and they skilfully weave mathematical language into activities. For example, when staff and children make play dough, they use words such as 'one third' for measurements and encourage children to count the scoops. However, when activities come to an end, staff do not always use effective strategies to help younger children understand the routine expectations. At times, younger children become frustrated that it is time to finish play. Instead of helping them understand what is next and the different learning on offer, staff leave children to play repetitively. Staff do not always help children to access and experience new and different learning experiences.
• The manager and her team have good relationships with parents. Staff provide parents with regular updates on their children's learning via an online app and give them time to talk when they drop off and collect their children. Parents describe their love for the 'magical' pre-school and speak of how their children have developed in confidence since attending. Parents say their children make good progress and love coming to pre-school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• use effective strategies consistently to support younger children to understand when activities finish and help them to access new or different activities to give them a wide range of learning experiences.