Building Bricks

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are very happy to enter the inclusive and stimulating environment of the pre-school. All children behave well and develop a positive attitude to learning. They are highly motivated and show excellent levels of self-control. For instance, when adults use a 'stop and listen' hand signal, all children stop playing immediately. Staff prioritise promoting children's uniqueness and respect for each other's differences. Children show great concern for others' feelings and instinctively help those children who need additional support. Children are excited to learn about the world around them. For example, they handle an insect gently, improving their understanding of numbers as they count its legs. They learn about road safety and follow the pre-school's strict rules as they ride bicycles safely round the marked-out track. Staff encourage children's efforts, praising their success in tasks and excellent behaviour.

Children have many opportunities for outdoor play to develop their physical skills. They scoop sand with spoons, ride bicycles and climb on the obstacle course. They use pens and chalk to make marks, and carefully fill containers 'half way' in water play. Staff are very attentive and caring. For instance, they check that children are dry and comfortable following messy play. Children begin to understand how their bodies work. They enjoy moving in new ways in a 'Cosmic Yoga' class. Older children decide they need a rest to recover, and know they need to drink water to rehydrate after physical exercise.

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

• Key persons form highly positive relationships with children, adjusting their level of reassurance to meet their individual emotional needs at all times. Children invite staff to join in their play and spontaneously hug them. Settling-in procedures have been adapted to meet the needs of children, as some have had little social contact due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Staff ensure that all children can fully participate and make the most of what is on offer. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive highly tailored support from dedicated staff, who reflect on their needs and interests daily. Partnership working with all involved is successful, ensuring the moves on to school are very effective.
• The manager has a good overview of what she wants children to learn in the pre-school. She successfully leads her well-qualified staff team on how to put this into practice. Staff skilfully plan for children, based on what they already know and can do. This ensures pre-school children are incredibly confident learners and ready for school. That said, staff occasionally miss chances to make the most of the learning of some of the younger children and of the most able children. They sometimes do not provide higher levels of challenge. For instance, staff do not encourage children to write their own names on stickers for their junk models. They miss chances to adapt the obstacle course for children who found it easy.
• Staff place a strong emphasis on promoting children's language skills. For example, children with minor speech delay enjoy small-group games, songs and rhymes. Staff listen very attentively and positively when children speak. Generally, they ask the correct questions to encourage younger children to respond, and to practise the new words they learn. Older children use long sentences to describe their new teachers and classrooms.
• Children have many opportunities to learn about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Staff provide healthy snacks and plenty of fresh water to drink. Staff supervise well and ensure children's dietary needs are met. They put in place good hygiene procedures, which they encourage children to adopt.
• Overall, staff teach children to become increasingly independent in managing their self-care skills. For example, older children practise dressing and undressing, as they try on items of school uniform in the home corner. However, staff miss opportunities to help children become even more independent, particularly during mealtimes and when washing hands. For instance, staff serve food with tongs and help children to open lids and packets. They step in to wipe up spills, even though children are eager to try and do it for themselves. Staff help children to squirt soap on their hands and dry them with paper towels. This does not fully support children's independence.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider how to challenge older children even more and how to build on what younger children can do, to further enhance their learning to even higher levels
• offer children further opportunities to develop their independence by consistently allowing them to carry out even more tasks for themselves.