Buckles And Bows Pre-School Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children form close attachments to staff and greet them with a huge smile on arrival at the setting. They are confident in their environment and demonstrate they feel safe and secure. For example, at the start of each session, children introduce themselves to visitors, engage in discussions with their friends and listen attentively when others speak. They leisurely change into their indoor shoes and wash their hands without prompting. Children thoroughly enjoy the time they spend in the setting. They immediately make choices in their play from the wide range of exciting resources.

Children are highly motivated learners. They show good imaginative skills and illustrate this as they discuss the ingredients they need to make potions. Children independently source water from the water butt and hunt for various items, such as herbs and petals, from around the garden. Children show high levels of curiosity and perseverance and attempt to use scissors to cut twigs. Staff have high expectation for children. When difficulties arise, they encourage children to work out solutions to their problems. Children decide that simply breaking the twigs with their fingers would be a better strategy and use the scissors to snip petals instead. Staff praise children's achievements, which helps to boost their self-esteem.

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

• The manager and staff have a good overview of the curriculum. They demonstrate a clear understanding of children's learning needs and, overall, deliver good-quality interactions that help to build on what children know and can do. For example, children have good opportunities to express themselves through the marks they make. They show good creative skills, focus intently and show high levels of engagement. However, on occasion, during small-group activities, staff do not fully engage all children in active discussion to help support their early communication skills to the highest level.
• Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive additional support and encouragement to help close gaps in their development. Staff monitor their progress closely and swift referrals are initiated to ensure that early interventions are obtained when necessary. As a result, children make good progress in their learning.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents say that staff share information about their child's progress and provide them with in-depth information on how to support their child at home. This ensures continuity in children's care and learning.
• Staff speak clearly to children. They introduce new words as children play, which helps to build on children's vocabulary and understanding. However, staff place less emphasis on promoting the use of children's home languages to help promote their language development even further.
• Children manage their personal hygiene needs well. For example, they independently blow their noses, put tissues in the bin and wash their hands with little prompting.
• Staff support children to develop good physical skills. For instance, children enthusiastically roll objects, such as cable wheels, down the slope and show high levels of determination as they roll it back up again. They are aware of the safety of others and shout 'watch out' as a warning for their friends. Children control their bodies and learn to take safe risks as they navigate themselves up and over the climbing equipment.
• The manager, trustees and staff positively share and promote the clear ethos and vision for the pre-school. Staff attend training to enhance aspects of their practice, which they disseminate to their peers. They say the manager supports them well and they enjoy working at the pre-school.
• Children's behaviour is impeccable. They listen to the views and ideas of their friends and demonstrate this as they play together imaginatively. For example, children focus intently and work together to build an aeroplane. They welcome others into their play, find the tools they need and explain to their younger peers how to use them. Children actively discuss problems that arise. For example, they proudly find the resource they need for their antenna.
• Staff support children's early literacy skills well. For instance, they provide good-quality reading materials for children and constantly look at books with them. Children re-enact stories in their role play and use props to bring them to life.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen small group activities to fully engage all children in active discussion, to help support their early communication skills to the highest level
• build on the opportunities for children who speak English as an additional language to hear and use their home language.