Carey Hall Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This friendly and welcoming pre-school offers a variety of quality resources and activities designed to ignite children's curiosity. Staff have warm relationships with children. They interact skilfully to support child-led play and follow children's interests to enhance and extend their learning. Staff know the children in their care very well and can talk about their interests and next steps of development. Children feel safe and secure, enabling them to make confident choices about their play and learning.

Leaders have designed their curriculum around carefully chosen core texts. For example, the 'Colour Monster' storybook is used to explore emotions during Children's Mental Health Week. Staff understand the value of story time as children often take books to adults and these are always read and discussed. This supports children to build on their vocabulary and develop an early love of reading.

Children show high levels of concentration and enjoyment as they engage in adult-led activities. For example, they carefully follow verbal instructions to make bird feeders. Staff engage children in discussion about how to care for the birds, and they explain new vocabulary, such as specific bird names. Children take pride in their achievements as they take their creations outside to hang in the garden.

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

• Staff interact warmly with children and are quick to offer reassurance and praise that build children's confidence and self-esteem. Children listen to their familiar adults and follow their instructions. However, there are moments when staff do not communicate changes in routine effectively. For example, when it is time to tidy up, some children continue their play as they are unaware what is expected of them in that moment.
• Staff engage in child-led play to model language and explain new vocabulary. They ask questions that promote thought and discussion. For instance, children playing together outside are encouraged to think about what animals might enjoy their 'mud soup', which promotes a lively discussion about snails and slugs. Over time, children make good progress with their language development.
• Staff support children to develop their listening and attention skills. For example, older children listen carefully to stories and engage in conversation around the story. However, staff do not use consistent strategies to support younger children to engage with group activities, such as singing and story time. Young children sometimes become distracted and fail to join in or benefit from the learning on offer.
• Staff work together to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They understand children's individual needs and work effectively with families and other professionals to secure timely support. Leaders use additional funding to provide additional support and resources based on individual needs. Children with SEND are fully included in the setting and make good progress from their individual starting points.
• Staff promote healthy lifestyles. Leaders are aware that oral health is a local issue and have responded to this through their curriculum. For instance, children enjoy using shaving foam to brush dinosaur teeth. Staff promote healthy eating and offer a variety of nutritious snacks throughout the day, supporting children to develop healthy habits from a young age.
• Staff provide opportunities for children to be physically active throughout the day, including in their well-designed outdoor space. However, the provision of bikes and other physical play equipment indoors creates an environment that sometimes appears chaotic. This has an impact on children trying to engage in quieter, more focused activities.
• Staff incorporate a range of festivals and calendar events into their planning, teaching children about other cultures and religions. They understand the value of taking the children into the local environment, for example, on local walks or to the supermarket. Children develop an understanding of the world around them and learn to respect difference and celebrate themselves.
• Leaders and staff understand the importance of building positive relationships with parents. Parents speak very positively about the pre-school. They describe the progress their children have made and attribute this to caring and attentive staff. They say that they trust staff to meet their children's individual needs.
• Staff describe a positive working environment in which they feel part of a committed, supportive and friendly team. Leaders are reflective about their practice and always seeking ways to improve. This includes engagement with other professionals as part of their continued professional development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider how to communicate routines with children more effectively, particularly at transition points, to ensure children understand what is expected of them
• implement consistent strategies to support younger children to engage with activities and group learning sessions
• consider the use of indoor space to ensure that opportunities for physical play are purposeful and do not disrupt the learning of others.