Checkendon Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff warmly greet children into the pre-school. Children rush in, keen to play and explore the interesting activities on offer. They quickly form secure bonds with staff and look for them for comfort and reassurance when they need it. Children show a true sense of belonging as they show new visitors their favourite toys, inviting them to play. Staff interact with care and kindness. They know children well and use this knowledge to personalise their questions when children tell them stories about their home lives. Staff celebrate children's achievements with great enthusiasm, such as when they write their name on their drawings. Staff's praise helps to raise children's self-esteem and confidence.

Staff demonstrate high expectations for children's learning. They talk knowledgeably about where children are in their unique learning journey and the good progress they make since starting at the pre-school. Staff consistently promote children's positive behaviour. For example, they sensitively redirect unwanted behaviours and offer safer alternatives. Children follow staff's good example and show compassion towards others. They consider how their actions may affect others, such as when they voluntarily apologise to their friends when they accidentally do something. Staff readily embrace children's natural curiosity and intervene appropriately to deepen their interests. For instance, children excitedly use electronic toys on a track. They quickly notice a problem. Staff ask for their thoughts to help solve it, encouraging them to test out their ideas. Staff help to support children's critical thinking skills well.

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

• The pre-school supervisor and staff team use information they gather from parents when children start to create a tailored and varied curriculum. Their ongoing assessment methods accurately identify priorities for delivering the curriculum. This includes supporting children's individual communication, social and physical skills. Staff effectively target their support to address children's emerging gaps, particularly for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They work collectively with parents and external professionals to design and implement individual interventions which ensure these children's needs are met well.
• Children show an eagerness to learn new facts and increase their knowledge. Staff support this by providing real-life experiences for children. For instance, they encourage children to observe how well their previously planted sunflower seeds are growing. They remind children about the conditions plants need to grow and children remember they need to water the plants regularly. Older children impressively recall that the roots of plants 'suck up water'. This supports children's understanding of the world.
• Staff develop children's understanding of how to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Children relish their time outdoors in the fresh air, which helps to enhance their well-being. They show increasing levels of stamina and control when they run around safely, such as when they catch and pop bubbles. Staff remind children to drink water, particularly after exercise, to keep them hydrated. Children independently wash their hands and say they do this 'to wash away the germs'. In this way, children learn about staying fit and healthy.
• Staff plan specific activities based on children's interests. For example, children with interests in dinosaurs choose to practice their mark making skills, as they draw around stencils of dinosaurs. However, during some routine times of the day, staff do not consistently consider best possible ways to maximise all children's learning. For example, they interrupt children while engrossed in their play to join another activity. Also, at times, staff expect children to remain altogether on the carpet for extended periods of time. Although children sit well, staff accept contributions from older, more confident children and do not fully take account of less confident and younger ones. This leads to some losing interest and moving away to play on their own.
• The pre-school supervisor shows a drive for continual improvement. For example, she works with her staff to include more outdoor opportunities to help increase children's focus and attention. The pre-school supervisor regularly observes staff's practice, offering constructive feedback to help improve their teaching skills. This helps to inform staff's ongoing professional development. However, she does not monitor closely enough how well these programmes help to improve individual staff's practice so that children fully benefit.
• Partnership with parents is strong. Staff keep parents well-informed about their children's day at pre-school, as well as their ongoing progress. They share ways to support their children's learning at home, which compliments children's continual progress. Parents report the good progress their children make, particularly in their speech, confidence and social skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support all staff to consider more carefully how daily routines impact on children's learning and development
• monitor and evaluate even more closely the impact of all staff's professional development programmes to benefit children further.