Brightlingsea Playcentre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter the pre-school excited and ready to begin their day. They greet staff with beaming smiles and tell them about things that have happened at home or on their way to pre-school. Staff respond enthusiastically, immediately engaging them in conversation. Children start their day by participating in a small group activity with the staff and their friends. Here, they talk about the days of the week, the weather and any important announcements, such as introducing the children to any visitors. Children clearly understand the pre-school rules and repeat them when asked. They behave exceptionally well. Children are kind and caring little people, who thoroughly embrace the friendships which develop through pre-school.

Children have a strong sense of belonging. They are familiar with the layout of the pre-school. For example, they confidently fetch their coat from the lobby area when they want to play outside. Children form close relationships with their key person and approach them for assistance or reassurance. Staff are close by at all times to offer help or to give a caring hug to anyone who needs one. Children show that they feel safe and secure at the pre-school. They speak confidently to visitors and even assist them in their tasks, for example, they take notes for the inspector and talk about the things they like to do at pre-school.

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

• Since the last inspection, the manager and trustees of the committee have improved the arrangements for record keeping and the manager's monitoring of documentation. Staff receive more effective supervision, support and coaching.
• Managers and staff worked hard during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic lockdowns to ensure that all children who were not able to attend the pre-school were well supported. They provided activities and learning ideas for parents to help them to teach their children at home. On returning to normal working, staff have taken time to re-assess each child's development to identify if this period of time has had any impact on their learning. Where gaps have been identified, staff plan effectively to help to close them.
• Parents speak very highly of the managers and staff. They comment on the excellent support that they received during the lockdown periods. Parents of children with special educational needs and/or disability (SEND) feel that the manager and SEND coordinator go over and above to help them to seek appropriate interventions and to support them in managing their children's needs.
• Children are keen and active explorers. They excitedly estimate how much water they will need to add to their cornflour mixture to make the right consistency for 'gloop'. They chat confidently to staff as they do, describing their different stages of the process. They think that the mixture is 'freezing, feels hard, feels soft, looks milky'. They comment that 'it is snowing indoors' when children clap their hands and cornflour flies into the air.
• Staff know the children well and proficiently build on their existing knowledge. They tailor some of the planned activities to individual children's next steps in learning. Staff use their observations of children's progress to provide parents with clear and accurate assessments of their children's development.
• Children enjoy solving problems. When a tower of plastic bricks keeps falling because it is too high and unstable, other children suggest placing it on a base plate to make the foundations firmer.
• Children have very good opportunities to play in the pre-school garden, which is set out with an exciting range of learning opportunities. There is, however, a section of the garden which is used less frequently. This area contains large wooden boat structures and exciting mounds to run over. Better and more frequent use of this area would enhance opportunities for children to extend their physical development and imaginative play greatly.
• Staff, generally, work either in the pre-school room or the room for two- to three-year-olds. They gain a secure understanding of the needs of the children in their particular room. When covering for staff shortages, however, some staff are less confident in their knowledge of the children and how to adapt teaching, for example, for the younger children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance children's physical development and knowledge of the wider world, for example by making better use of outdoor experiences and environments
• continue to support staffs' professional development to create consistently strong practice when staff are covering to work with different aged children.