Carisbrooke Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy accessing the outside space to spend time exploring with their friends and learning new skills. Staff provide choices for the children throughout the day. This helps children develop their thinking skills and consider different ways to carry out a task. For example, children make pretend soup using sweetcorn they have grown in the pre-school garden and have conversations about other ingredients to add and how to carry the heavy pot.

Children are happy and enjoy the close relationships they have developed with staff. This helps children to feel safe and secure in the setting. For example, each staff member knows every child well and is able to meet their needs because of the small community they have developed.

Staff praise children regularly. For example, they notice the little things, such as a child putting on their Wellington boots by themselves or sharing a toy with a friend. This helps children to feel proud of themselves and build their self-confidence. They behave well and are kind and respectful to their friends.

Staff involve children in developing the resources within the setting, and these change according to the children's interests. For example, staff helped children set up a campfire with logs to sit on and sticks to put cooking pots on. This resource supports children to make sense of the world around them and recreate enjoyable experiences from their holidays.

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

• The manager is extremely reflective and works closely with her team to deliver a curriculum that is ambitious for all children in the setting. For example, staff take their time to get to know children well and observe if a child builds a secure attachment with a specific key person. This helps ensure experiences are successfully tailored to each child's learning needs.
• Staff are skilled at encouraging children to be curious and explore all areas of the setting. Children choose where they play, and the garden is often a popular choice. Children enjoy being active and using the equipment outside, such as the swing, climbing frame and water.
• The setting provides a curriculum that is ambitious and builds on children's current strengths to help them move on to their next stage of learning. Children are excited to get involved in the experiences provided by staff and this provides a positive learning environment for all children.
• Conversations between children and staff are natural and relaxed. Children have plenty of opportunities to practice their language skills. However, some staff are not as confident as others at further extending children's language skills, for example by introducing new vocabulary or encouraging conversation.
• Staff promote children's independence by encouraging them to have a try by themselves and then providing support if needed. For example, children are encouraged to peel their own bananas, take off their jumpers or pack away the toys ready for home time.
• Children are involved in assessing their own risk and are well supported with this. Staff involve children in checking the garden for any hazards and provide them with practical ways to look after themselves and their friends. For example, children enjoy playing outside with sticks and are taught to only carry ones that are as long as their arm.
• Staff support children with regulating their emotions and encourage children to recognise their feelings and behaviours. For example, the setting has a quiet corner which children like to visit if they need a moment to be calm or have a think. This means that with encouragement, children learn to identify how they are feeling and begin to understand the impact their behaviour has on others.
• The setting has a good relationship with the local school and shares information to support children transitioning to their next stage of learning. The manager also works in partnership with other agencies, such as speech and language therapists, to support children who need extra help with their development.
• Staff regularly attend training and gather new information to improve their knowledge. For example, staff have recently completed forest school training and are gradually introducing new outdoor experiences to enhance learning.
• The manager provides a good level of support for her staff team. She listens to their ideas and suggestions they have about the setting and uses supervision to consider their workload while taking into account their health and well-being.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to more consistently recognise opportunities to extend children's language and communication skills further.