Brooksite Under 5's

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are settled and develop strong friendships at the pre-school. They feel safe and secure enough to play together independently. For example, children sit and giggle together in a wicker shelter. They use puppets to tell each other stories and pretend to tickle each other. Staff help children to play cooperatively. They praise children as they work together to fill bottles with sand.

Children enjoy being physically active. Staff help children to gradually build their confidence in riding bikes down the incline of the outdoor area. Children proudly show staff their achievements as they whizz past them on their bikes. Staff encourage younger children to use the slide and say 'ready, steady, go' before they slide down. Children use their core strength to steadily walk over a balancing beam.

Children benefit from the pre-school having consistent and caring staff, which helps them to form close and positive relationships. Staff identify and follow children's interests, expertly using this information to support learning and development. For example, when they notice that children enjoy using torches, staff turn off the lights and help children to understand how shadows are created. Children excitedly twirl their torches around, curious to see the light and shadows around them.

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

• Staff assessments of children are effective. They include information from parents to inform children's starting point in development when they begin to attend pre-school. Staff quickly plan a broad curriculum and accurately identify what they want children to learn next.
• Staff provide a consistent approach to the care and learning of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This is because staff have strong partnerships with other professionals, such as health visitors and speech and language therapists. Staff communicate well and share information with other settings involved in children's care.
• Children have opportunities to frequently access the indoor and outdoor areas. However, staff are not always deployed effectively to consistently meet children's needs. For example, some children have to wait to use the toilet because staff are engaged with and supervising other children.
• Children are familiar with the expectations set out by staff. For example, outdoors, children know the boundaries of where they can play. They understand that to stay safe they must not cross the red line. Overall, children behave well. However, on the rare occasion that disagreements arise, staff gently remind children to have kind hands.
• Staff provide a mix of planned and child-led activities. Nevertheless, there are occasions when children become distracted and require more direction from staff. For example, after lunch, children take part in free play for a prolonged period. However, some children become bored and noise levels rise. This impacts on other children's learning and ability to focus during this time.
• Staff help children to become independent. For example, during snack time, they show children how to safely cut an apple with a knife, and children attempt this for themselves. Children have many opportunities to independently manage dressing, for instance, as they get ready for outdoor play.
• Parents are very pleased with the progress that their children are making at pre-school. They say that they could not be any happier and that it is a lovely environment. Staff actively seek the views of parents and act on these to make improvements. For example, staff are moving to an online system as another way to communicate with parents.
• The manager is passionate about providing children and families with high-quality care and education. She frequently reflects on practice to specifically identify areas for improvement. Staff are supported very well. For example, the manager allocates time for regular supervisions and team meetings. The manager mentors staff who are in new roles. This helps them to become comfortable and confident to take on new responsibilities.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff deployment to further support the care and learning needs of children
• review the organisation of the routine and planned activities to ensure that children are engaged and benefit fully from the curriculum.