Chadwell Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly welcomed into this caring, nurturing and organised environment. The entrance is filled with parents dropping off children and key workers greeting them and getting them ready for their day. Children find their pegs, put letters in the postbox and are happy to go straight into nursery to get busy. All areas of learning are planned for and considered and the inviting environment has been created for children to explore and be curious. Children are independent and begin using the typewriters, painting on easels and using scoops and scrapers in the large, indoor sandpit.

Children demonstrate good concentration during circle time and are eager to share their ideas, which are valued and acknowledged. Their emotional well-being is fostered, as they ask each other how they are and use emotion puppets to describe how they are feeling. Children follow instructions well and behaviour expectations are high. All children are aware of the golden rules and treat each other with respect, tidy their environment, wait for their turn and share resources.

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

• Staff know their children really well, and plan to build on what they already know and support them to make good progress. They spend time getting to know children and their families when they start nursery, which ensures children settle quickly and their starting points are accurate.
• Children are confident communicators and are learning and acquiring new vocabulary well. Adults model words to describe the weight of objects and children begin to use 'heavier' and 'lighter' in their play, as they explore traditional weighing scales and objects.
• Children are developing independence and are well prepared for the next stage of education. They find their name in the morning to complete self-registration, get a tissue to wipe their nose and scrape their own plates after snack.
• Healthy lifestyles are encouraged, and children are able to try a variety of healthy foods at nursery. They prepare their own vegetable pasta salad ready for snack time, they chop and cut vegetables. Children talk about the ones they like and why they should eat healthy foods.
• A love of reading is promoted and fostered as children gather around adults and listen intently to stories being told. Story themes are embedded into the curriculum, and a reading den encourages exploring books throughout the day. The special log cabin library that has been has created to ensure parents can be involved in developing children's interest in reading, as they enjoy choosing and borrowing books together.
• Staff are highly engaged with children and advocate in-the-moment planning, incorporating children's interests. They set up buckets of icy snow in winter and encourage children to scoop and stir in the outdoor kitchen. However, adult interactions are not always effective as children are not given enough time to think and respond.
• Parent partnerships are a real strength and communication is good. Parents speak highly of this warm and welcoming setting and many parents have sent more than one of their children, as they are happy with the progress they make and how emotionally secure and confident they are.
• The staff benefit from a thorough supervision system where leaders use information from monitoring and observations to identify where practice needs improving. Staff are well supported within their team and confident in their roles. They seek advice and work alongside other professionals to support children's learning.
• Inclusivity is at the heart of this setting, and all children, including those with additional needs, make good progress and thrive in this nurturing environment. Some children benefit from the support of additional adults who provide personalised one to one support for their learning and development. Children use Makaton and visual clues to help them communicate and make choices.
• The manager is reflective and aware of the strengths and improvements that could be made within the setting. Leaders and managers strive to ensure children have the best possible outcomes by following their interests and identifying gaps. Most recently, they created a tinkering shed, so children can fix and tinker with real objects, increasing their concentration and motivation to learn.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve staff's knowledge of teaching and learning to ensure high quality interactions that develop children's positive attitudes towards learning even further.