Bright Stars Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the pre-school eager and ready to play. They happily separate from parents and carers with the support of staff, who are welcoming. Staff are excited to show children the activities and they explore these together. Children demonstrate high levels of concentration. They persevere when taking part in activities and demonstrate enjoyment when they complete tasks. Children delight in interactions with their peers and behave impeccably. They correct each other's behaviour. For example, when children using scooters crash into a trolley, other children remind them to stop.

Children with limited speech confidently use alternative ways to communicate. For example, they use gestures, pointing and single words. Children demonstrate the clear expectations to share the resources and be kind to each other. They learn this from the moment they begin in the pre-school, as older children use positive interactions with each other and mimic the staff. For example, children readily help each other to reach toys and set these out.

Children are extremely independent, inquisitive and confident. They freely move between the garden and indoor environment and select resources that interest them to enhance their play. Children demonstrate sequenced learning by carrying out a range of tasks. For example, when they need to wipe their nose, they confidently find a tissue, then place the used tissue in the bin by themselves. Children proudly tell staff what they have done.

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

• Staff work exceedingly well with other professionals, ensuring that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive highly effective, tailored support and progress well. They work in partnership with parents to ensure individual care needs are always met.
• Staff are exceptionally skilled at developing children's communication and language skills. They use a range of strategies to support children to acquire and use language. They role model language, effectively question, talk clearly and give children plenty of time to respond and practise speaking. Staff listen and repeat any words that children say. They encourage children to use simple sign language to communicate. For children who are non-verbal, staff use objects or pictures to aid communication. Their high-quality interactions and inspiring conversations help to develop children's vocabulary and confidence to interact.
• The manager and staff build impressive, highly effective relationships with parents. They get to know them and their children very well. The manager and staff engage parents in their child's learning. Parents praise the amount of information they receive about what the children do during the day and the progress they are making. This very strong partnership helps to raise outcomes for children to the highest level.
• The leadership team has a clear vision for continually improving the care and education children receive. The manager is passionate about her role. She supports her whole team exceptionally well to help them achieve their very best. Staff say that they are extremely well supported. Staff's emotional well-being is given high importance.
• The management team undertakes extensive self-evaluation to precisely identify improvements and support continuous professional development. Staff attend a vast amount of training, based on the needs of the children in the pre-school at the time. For example, staff are currently attending sign language training, in partnership with the neighbouring school, to further support all children to be able to communicate and express themselves.
• Staff are highly skilled and knowledgeable, and demonstrate a deep understanding of how children learn. They understand the importance of ensuring that all children receive a broad and balanced curriculum, containing a wide variety of experiences based on their differing needs and abilities. Staff plan and implement an exemplary, sequenced curriculum based on children's interests, regular research projects and children's outcomes. All children make outstanding progress in relation to their starting points, including children with SEND and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.