Cedar Tree Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children feel safe and secure. They introduce themselves to visitors and proudly show the resources they enjoy exploring. For example, children discuss cause and effect as they shake a bottle filled with glitter and water. They say they are happy as they point to the 'happy expression' printed on the bottle.

Children greatly benefit from a language-rich environment, where they are able to express their ideas and feelings. For instance, pictures of familiar streets and monuments prompt children to talk about where they live. Children develop a positive view of culture and diversity. For example, they explore stories that introduce different family structures and religions, such as the 'Hanukkah elf' called 'Smelf', who teaches children about Jewish traditions. This helps children to broaden their understanding of how others celebrate the holiday season.

Children build good relationships with staff and peers. For example, children ask questions to find out what their peers are doing. This enables them to engage in cooperative play with one another. Staff have high expectations of children and encourage respectful behaviour. Children display good levels of attention and an active desire to learn. They demonstrate good behaviours through understanding and participation in activities. For example, children work together to fill containers with water to create a mud patch. They confidently wait for their turn and share equipment well. They say, 'we are making mud cakes.'

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

• Staff know children's personalities well. This helps them to plan a curriculum that meets children's individual needs and interests. They place emphasis on supporting children's emotional literacy. Children partake in a sensory, forest-based experience, where they practise breathing techniques and enjoy physical activities, such as yoga. This promotes children's emotional well-being.
• Frequent trips into the local community build on children's skills and knowledge. For example, older children have opportunities to partake in swimming lessons, which strengthen their physical skills and promote healthy lifestyles. Furthermore, children practise their social skills and expectations for good behaviours as they mix with people in society.
• Children benefit from rules and responsibilities. For example, they count how many children are accessing the soft-play area to understand if it is safe for them to join. Staff regularly observe the environment and evaluate how children play with the equipment. This helps to heighten supervision within a specific area and minimise potential hazards.
• Staff constantly engage children in conversations to understand what they know and can do. They integrate mathematical concepts into routine activities to extend children's knowledge of number and quantity. For example, staff create visual posters, which prompt children to recap measurements and ingredients they have previously used to make play dough.
• Children show high levels of capability during mealtimes. For instance, they collect their own cups and plates and serve their own meals. Purposeful conversations between staff and children take place to support children to independently cut up their own fruit. Staff give children time to concentrate as they pour themselves a cup of milk. This helps children to make strong progress in their self-help skills.
• All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress in their learning. Staff use detailed assessments to quickly identify children with lower starting points. They plan interventions, such as regular meetings with parents, to focus on targeted areas of learning. This ensures positive outcomes for children.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Staff use an online system, alongside verbal feedback, to share information about children's experiences and progress. This helps parents to support children's learning at home. Parents speak highly of all staff, and they feel fully informed.
• Overall, the quality of teaching is strong, and children display positive attitudes to learning. However, on occasion, staff do not fully identify how to raise children's levels of engagement to a deeper level of learning, to help children achieve their highest potential.
• Focused improvement plans are in place to ensure that the setting continues to grow. Staff benefit from regular observations and biannual supervision meetings to discuss their professional development. This positively contributes towards a highly motivated and passionate workforce. Staff state they feel supported in their role, and they value staff meetings to share ideas and knowledge.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff practice in order to identify further opportunities to raise children's levels of engagement to an even higher level.