Bordon Garrison Pre-school & Creche

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Some children have had long periods of being at home, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, they arrive happily at the setting, are confident, and have developed good friendships with each other. The manager and staff create a nurturing environment that helps children to feel safe and secure. Children of all ages are interested and often engrossed in their play. They have many opportunities to be physically active. For example, older children laugh with excitement as they race with their friends. Younger children enjoy using ride-on equipment and take turns sharing. Children are confident to explore their environments and they play happily together. They develop their imagination as they dress up in superhero costumes or pretend to cast a spell.

Staff support children to use good manners and to be kind and respectful. Children understand boundaries and behave exceptionally well. Children are developing their independent skills. Older children serve their own lunch. Younger children put on their own shoes competently. Children show good concentration and thoroughly enjoy taking part in story time. They sit and listen attentively, actively reciting what they see in the pictures. Children delight in testing out their early design skills. They confidently build houses from blocks and pretend to blow them down. Staff encourage children to recall prior learning, and they model new words, such as 'elephant' and 'giraffe'.

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

• The manager and staff know children extremely well. They observe their learning and identify what the intent of their curriculum is. However, staff do not consistently extend activities to fully support children and help them make the very best progress in all areas of their learning.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents state how pleased they are with the care their children receive. However, information about their children's experiences and learning is not shared consistently to help support learning at home.
• The manager leads her staff team well. Staff say that they feel valued and supported in their role. The manager and chair of the committee are good role models for staff, offering them help and guidance on how they can improve their practice. Staff have regular meetings and supervision, and are, overall, aware of where they could make improvements to their practice and the service they provide.
• The manager and staff support children to develop skills in preparation for their move on to school. For instance, they teach children to manage their feelings and express how they feel. Children begin to respect and learn about diversity and similarities and differences in ways that are meaningful and appropriate for their age.
• Staff support children in receipt of additional funding or with special educational needs and/or disabilities well. They consider how additional funding is spent to ensure it makes the intended difference for children. They act swiftly to seek intervention from other professionals to ensure that children receive the support that they need.
• Staff know their key children well. Children are able to make choices in their play, indoors and outdoors, from the range of resources available to them. Books and stories are a big part of children's experience. Staff read stories throughout the day and children have access to a dedicated setting library.
• Staff teach children about healthy eating options, how this contributes to their good health and how some foods are not good for their teeth. They discuss the benefits of eating healthy food at snack time with children to help them understand the importance.
• The manager and staff complete risk assessments to identify and remove any hazards to ensure the premises are safe for children to play in. They practise fire drills with children to help them learn how to respond promptly in case of an emergency.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to recognise and use opportunities to challenge and extend children's emerging interests, in order to maximise learning
• build on opportunities to help parents share information about their children's experiences and learning at home, to help ensure continuity in care.