Castor and Ailsworth Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive and separate from their parents or carers confidently. Children show a strong sense of belonging. For example, they independently find their name which shows them where to hang their coat, and put their lunchboxes on the trolley. The children wash their hands on arrival and are very familiar with these new routines since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Children develop secure friendships with others. They smile warmly to greet their friends when they arrive and chat happily to them during the very social snack and mealtimes. Children readily demonstrate what they know. They talk about the pictures they have created and offer solutions about how to cool down their pretend soup.

Children behave well and have kind regard for their friends and the adults caring for them. Children confidently use number language in their play. For example, they talk about the amount of time they need to park their ride-on bike for and how much this costs. Children enjoy being physically active and create elaborate obstacle courses, making sure there are items to balance on, jump off and climb up. They take turns and show perseverance and determination as they move from one end of the course to the other.

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

• Staff develop clear curriculum goals. They show a clear and agreed understanding about what they want children to learn prior to going to school. Staff understand that, in order for children to be the best they can be, they need confidence, independence and a willingness to learn. Activities and experiences planned for the children take account of their individual needs and interests. Children make good progress from their starting points.
• All staff have a very good knowledge of each child, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They offer effective support as children play so that they extend their learning and build upon what children already know. Staff understand when children need to consolidate their learning and when it is appropriate to offer them new knowledge. For example, when they see children demonstrate that they know how to count 10 balls of play dough accurately, they extend this to teach simple addition.
• Staff set up and pack away the indoor and outdoor provision each day. They have carefully considered how to ensure that children have lots of opportunities to develop their knowledge of the natural world and local community. For example, children visit their allotment to grow edible flowers and onions. However, staff have not considered how to offer all children, including those with limited or no speech or those children who are less confident, the opportunity to self-choose additional resources that are not already out for them.
• Overall, staff support children's early language development well. They focus on developing children's love of books and provide quiet, covered areas for them to read. Staff use singing and signing to include all children in developing their communication and language. They introduce descriptive words, for example, as they pull different items out of a bag and talk about how they feel. However, occasionally, staff reinforce the use of more familiar ways of saying words, such as 'doggie''. This means that young children do not always hear the correct pronunciation of words.
• The manager ensures that additional funding, such as early years pupil premium, is used effectively to promote the well-being and learning of individual children.
• Parents are very complimentary of all the staff. They fully appreciate the efforts of staff to support their child and family. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to ensure they always offer the best support for each child.
• The manager leads her team of staff very well. The experienced team has predominantly worked together for many years. Together, they share and unite in their passion to provide children and their families with a very good service.
• The professional development of staff is given priority. Staff learn new information about practice and early years initiatives, and bring this knowledge back to put into practice for the benefit of children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to develop consistency when modelling language, to help young children to hear and use the correct pronunciation of words
• promote all children's ability to make a wider range of choices about their self-chosen play, in particular when resources are stored out of sight.