Chawton Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle quickly in this warm and welcoming pre-school. They happily enter the setting, full of excitement and motivated to learn. They quickly focus their attention on seasonal-themed activities. For example, children develop an understanding of Bonfire Night through craft activities. Staff provide a rich variety of materials for children to choose from, which supports children to use creative free expression in art and design.

Staff have high expectations for all children. They know them well and plan a wide range of activities that they know children will enjoy. For example, during the inspection, children enjoyed listening to 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' story. They patiently waited for their turn to talk with staff about the sequence of events in the book. During this fun and exciting activity, children also learned about numbers. They developed fine motor skills as they found items related to the story and posted them into a pot. This deepened children's understanding of the story and extended their learning in other areas of the curriculum.

Children generally behave well and have established secure relationships with staff and one another, which makes them feel safe and secure. For example, children confidently interact with staff during play and offer guidance to their friends during activities. This helps to create a positive environment for learning and development and improves further outcomes for children.

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

• Staff support children's communication and language skills well. They incorporate children's love of books into their learning and provide opportunities for children to engage and interact with the story. For example, children excitedly call out keywords at appropriate times and develop an understanding of language patterns, such as rhyme and rhythm. Staff skilfully introduce children to a rich variety of language, using new words and encouraging children to repeat words and phrases. This supports further their communication and language development.
• Staff provide a rich variety of resources which inspire children to learn. Children confidently select resources and engage in purposeful play. However, staff do not always consistently challenge children's learning, to ensure they make the best possible progress, for instance, when children play independently with self-chosen activities.
• Partnership with parents is secure. Parents speak highly of staff and comment that children make good progress and that they feel included in children's learning and development. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, staff ensured children and families had access to home learning. Staff took turns to upload story time videos and sent parents activities for children and their families to do at home. This ensured that children's learning and development continued to flourish and supported everyone's well-being.
• Staff provide opportunities for children to develop their physical skills. Children enjoy playing in the safe outdoor environment and using their imagination. For example, children experiment with role-play on the well-built pirate ship and practice their climbing skills under staff supervision. Since the last inspection, staff have proactively promoted children's understanding of healthy food. Children enjoy growing vegetables, including tomatoes, leeks, potatoes and pumpkins. They make healthy meals, such as pumpkin cupcakes and leek and potato soup. This supports their understanding of healthy lifestyles further.
• The manager supports staff in their professional development. She provides regular supervision meetings to talk about what is working well and areas for improvement. Staff are encouraged to participate in training to update knowledge and understanding, and to improve outcomes for children.
• Staff know children well and plan an exciting and varied curriculum based on children's interests and what fascinates them. Staff routinely talk to children at the end of the day to establish what they enjoyed doing and what they would like to do next. This ensures that children feel valued and included in their learning and development.
• Staff are very mindful of supporting children to understand and respect different cultures. Children learn keywords and phrases from different languages and celebrate a broad range of festivals, such as Chinese New Year and Easter. This approach ensures that children gain a deeper understanding of diversity.
• Children develop a good understanding of the world. Staff provide opportunities for children to learn about a variety of different creatures and season changes. For example, children enjoy going on Autumn walks, making bug houses, and creating sea-life creatures out of clay. These activities ensure that children develop an awareness and respect for the planet.
• Children confidently approach staff for a cuddle and offer support to each other during play. Staff sensitively remind children of rules and procedures, such as not running indoors. However, children are not always consistently supported in understanding appropriate behaviour.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• coach and support staff to evaluate and further challenge children's learning, so they make the best possible progress
• further support children to understand consequences of behaviour