Brimington Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive at this welcoming and inclusive pre-school. All children make good progress in their learning and development from their starting points. The management team have designed an ambitious curriculum, which the staff implement with passion. There is a strong emphasis on supporting children's personal and social development. Staff are positive role models. They interact with children as they play, helping them to understand the behavioural expectations. Children behave impeccably. They show polite manners and have formed strong friendships with their peers.

Outdoor learning features strongly in the daily routines. The children relish the opportunity to move freely between the indoor and outdoor areas. They show great attitudes to learning and become engaged in the activities on offer. Staff support children's physical development skills as they encourage different movement and skills, such as climbing, balancing, catching and kicking a ball. Staff help older children to develop focus and concentration skills through small-group creative activities. They teach children how to hold and use scissors, pencils and glue sticks. Children become engaged as they practise their fine motor skills.

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

• The management team work well together and are dedicated to improving the service provided for the children and their families. They work in close partnership with staff, parents and external professionals to evaluate their practice and provision. This continuous cycle of reflection helps them to maintain the good-quality standard of care and education.
• Equality and inclusion are at the heart of this pre-school. Staff have a positive approach to diversity and support children to develop a positive sense of themselves. Children are highly valued as individuals. They are confident, resilient and independent.
• Staff report very good well-being. They can access an online provider to complete training that interests them and develops their practice further. The management team have recently introduced peer observations to help monitor the quality of interactions between children and staff. However, these are not yet focused enough on the quality of teaching to help staff improve their teaching skills and practice to a consistently high level.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive exceptional support. The management team support staff to work in close partnerships with parents and external agencies to ensure a comprehensive package of support and interventions is highly effective. Children with SEND make good progress over time.
• Overall, teaching is good, and staff have a good understanding of how children of different ages learn. Children enjoy the learning activities on offer. For example, children develop fine motor skills as they use paintbrushes to create art work. However, staff do not always plan activities for children that focus precisely on what it is they need to learn next. This does not always support children to make the best possible progress at times.
• Children are supported to develop good communication and language skills. Staff speak to children calmly and clearly. They use songs, rhymes and stories to develop children's language skills and vocabulary. Staff ask open-ended questions and invite children to share their thoughts and predictions at story time. They use Makaton and visuals in everyday routines, which helps children to make good progress in their language and communication.
• Older children are confident, sociable and form friendships with each other. They are patient and happy to wait their turn during a game of skittles. Children imaginatively act out being on a pirate ship. They excitedly talk to their friends about their pet parrot they have on their shoulder and the treasure they are looking for.
• Partnership with parents is strong. Parents speak very positively about the pre-school and the care provided. They say that they find the pre-school inclusive and find the staff friendly and caring. Parents like the opportunities that children have and especially love the themed days the pre-school offer. They value the guidance they receive from staff to help support children's progress at home, such as with toilet training and behaviour.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• coach staff effectively to identify areas for development that help to raise the quality of their teaching to a consistently high level across all areas of the pre-school
• plan activities that focus teaching and learning more precisely on what children need to learn next to help them make the best possible progress in their learning.