Boxmoor Hall Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children's development and well-being are warmly supported by staff who provide them with close attention which is adapted to their needs. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff encourage children's development on walks in the local area. They help children to notice the features of the world around them, such as flowers in a local churchyard. Children enjoy looking at Christmas trees that have been put up locally and talk about the lights that they see around them. Staff use these everyday activities to remind children of safety rules, such as waiting for all of the cars to stop before using a pedestrian crossing. They help children to press the button at the crossing, to teach them about road safety.

Interesting activities, such as sensory play, are used to broaden children's vocabulary. Staff encourage children to explore 'magic' sand. Children work the sand through their fingers, exploring the texture. They use a range of language to describe what they experience. Children use words such as 'spongy' and 'melting', and staff applaud them for trying new language. A staff member holds up the sand. Children sprinkle it through their fingers and say, 'It's raining,', which leads to further lively discussion. Staff understand how to build children's language skills to broaden their vocabulary and give them good opportunities to use their newly acquired language in everyday experiences.

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

• Staff feel well supported by the manager and take pride in their work. The manager uses effective systems of staff supervision and monitoring that enable her to identify any areas where she can support staff, including through training. All staff, including volunteers, speak about their broad and effective programme of supervision and support. They value the time to speak with management about any concerns they may have, to identify training needs and to discuss the specific needs of their key children.
• Staff have detailed knowledge of children's individual needs, particularly the children with SEND. They use this to adapt activities and resources for all children and focus any additional funding where it has the most positive impact on outcomes for children. They build good relationships with parents and any professionals in children's lives in order to share their considerable knowledge of individual children as appropriate. This helps them to meet children's needs securely. Parents praise how well staff know their children and appreciate how they manage links with other professionals in their children's lives.
• Children are helped to understand different mathematical ideas. Staff use a range of strategies to help them understand the meaning of written numbers and the different quantities that they represent. They build on children's existing knowledge and help them to extend their understanding. For example, those children who can recognise single-digit quantities are supported to recognise double-digit quantities. They then try to guess a quantity without counting in sequence.
• Staff welcome children warmly and complete thorough handovers with children's carers so that they can adjust the service they provide according to children's daily needs, even when these may change.
• Staff support and respect children's dignity, including those with SEND who may need more help with their personal care. They are also aware of non-verbal children and understand their attempts to communicate, patiently listening and confirming what they want or need. This sensitive approach means that all children receive an equally supportive experience, both from their key person and other staff in the pre-school.
• Overall, there is an effective balance between adult- and child-initiated activity. However, occasionally, especially when the staff are readying children to move on to something else, such as to go outside, they take longer than necessary. Multiple staff take part in getting individual children ready. This means that other children who need less support are largely left to their own devices during these times.
• The manager has taken steps to ensure that all relevant documentation used for the safe and efficient management of the setting is easily available to anyone with the right or professional needs to see it. This includes evidence that staff have undertaken training in paediatric first aid and to demonstrate that all persons who work with children have been subject to relevant suitability checks.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the quality of staff support for all children during times when children move from one activity to the next.