Bushy Tails Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at pre-school and the opportunities they have to build friendships. Staff role model kindness and care well, including through their relationships with each other. For example, they check their colleagues regularly and bring each other cups of water. Children re-enact this behaviour as they share tools while working with the play dough and check that their friends are okay after a bump. This helps provide them with the skills they will need to build and maintain future friendships.

Staff provide children with regular opportunities to learn new concepts such as mathematics. This provides children with a good foundation of knowledge to support their future learning. For instance, children develop an understanding of shape and measure as they match the outline of everyday items with the corresponding object. Children name the shapes and compare their properties. Staff encourage children to practise their counting skills as they count the number of circles they can find. Children compare sizes and use language such as 'big' and 'small' to group objects.

Children behave well and develop good attitudes towards their learning. For instance, they concentrate intently as they study picture instructions when building a marble run. Children work collaboratively to create structures and watch in excitement as the marbles make their way from top to bottom. Staff provide children with regular encouragement to keep trying when their towers topple. This helps children develop their resilience.

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

• The manager and their team have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. They work well together and benefit from supervision, which provides support and promotes continuous professional development. The manager and staff implement a curriculum that is ambitious and takes the needs of each child into account. This helps children make good progress from their starting points.
• Children benefit from a stimulating environment that promotes their next steps in learning. Staff plan activities and resources that capture children's interests. However, staff do not consistently manage all activities to promote sustained learning. For example, staff place the marble run close to the entrance of another play space. This causes the area to become very busy, interrupting children's concentration.
• Staff support children's developing language and communication skills well. For example, they introduce descriptive language, such as 'smooth' and 'bumpy', as children play with dinosaurs in the garden. This helps develop children's vocabulary. Staff use a variety of communication methods, such as simple sign language, to support those who are at an earlier stage in their speech and language development. This provides children with the tools they need to express their needs and desires while their speech is emerging. This means that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language, learn to be effective communicators.
• Children develop the physical skills they need in preparation for future writing. For example, they strengthen their hand muscles and pincer grip as they squeeze play dough and use whiteboards and markers to draw pictures. Children develop their coordination, core strength and confidence as they stretch their bodies and move to action songs.
• Staff support children to develop a sense of self and an awareness of the feelings of others. For instance, during an activity, children take turns to look at a set of pictures and consider whether these make them feel happy or sad. Staff provide additional context to help children understand what each picture represents. Children reflect on what they see and share their own experiences that link with each picture. Staff help children recognise and respect each other's interpretations, similarities and differences.
• Children have opportunities to develop their independence skills. For example, they make their own choices when presented with options. This includes the activities they would like to engage in and food choices at mealtimes. Children start to learn how to take care of themselves and their environment. For example, children put on their own coats and tidy away their toys. However, staff complete some tasks for children, missing the opportunity to teach them the skills they need to develop high levels of independence. This includes getting their own tissue and wiping their own noses.
• Partnership working is effective in providing children with the consistency and support they need to prosper. For example, staff work closely with other professionals to ensure children receive the support they need to be successful. The manager uses feedback from local schools to shape the curriculum. This helps prepare children well for their eventual move to school. Staff work well with parents, creating an open and supportive culture. Parents receive regular updates on their children's progress and speak to their child's key person regularly.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the opportunities children have to develop their independence skills in preparation for their next stage in learning
• strengthen the organisation of activities to ensure children have the space they need to fully engage in their play.