Childcare @ St Swithun's

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are at the heart of everything that the pre-school does. The managers and staff create a warm, welcoming and safe environment and have the highest aspirations for all children. Staff are exceptionally nurturing and greet children and their families with smiles on their arrival. Children feel safe and form secure attachments with staff who promote a strong sense of belonging to each child. This helps children to feel happy and settle quickly.

Children thrive at this exceptional pre-school. Staff provide a focused and sequenced curriculum based on children's interests and stage of development. Children access a rich and varied range of activities and experiences to encourage them to explore and learn. For example, children excitably use diggers to hunt for hidden treasure in the sand. Staff join in to extend children's learning. They challenge the children to count the treasure they find in sand to support their mathematical development. Children are extremely confident. This is evident in their engagement within both adult-led and self-initiated learning experiences.

Children behave exceptionally well and understand what is expected of them. Staff are excellent role models and have high expectations for children's behaviour. This is evident as they encourage children to use their manners, share and wait their turn. Children benefit from a good amount of praise and encouragement from staff, which supports their self-esteem and confidence well.

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

• The provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is exceptional. The designated coordinator is experienced and passionate about her role. She works together with parents and other professionals to devise targeted strategies and support for children with SEND. For instance, children benefit from visual timetables and regular one-to-one intervention sessions. This means that children with SEND receive on-going support and make good progress over time.
• Staff support children to be physically active. All children enjoy access to an outside area throughout the day, where they have opportunities to be active and explore. In addition, children have the use of a sports hall where they engage in weekly sports sessions with their friends. Staff provide an abundance of activities for children that encourage them to use and develop their small muscles. For instance, children use their hands to manipulate materials, such as when they explore dough. This supports children's physical development exceptionally well.
• Partnership with parents is incredibly strong. Parents share exceptional feedback about the pre-school. They praise the knowledgeable and experienced staff and value the daily conversations and photos they receive. Regular meetings and home learning ideas help to fully involve parents in their children's learning. The manager provides on-site family support to help parents access funding, support and useful advice about local services.
• The pre-school provides children with an extensive range of experiences to learn about their community. For example, children regularly visit a community garden to plant the flowers they have grown at the pre-school and learn about nature. Staff take children to visit the local parks and plan exciting trips to the nearby town. Visits from the fire service and ambulance crew help children to learn about people who help us. These experiences help to shape children's understanding of the community in which they live.
• Staff implement highly effective strategies that support children's language development. For example, they hold ongoing discussions with the children as they play, modelling new vocabulary and asking questions to promote conversation. Children have numerous opportunities to sing and take part in action rhymes throughout the day. Staff read books regularly to children to support their listening and attention skills. This helps children make superb progress and develop into confident communicators.
• Children demonstrate impressive levels of independence from a young age. This is evident as they independently wash their hands and access the snack table where they serve their own food and drink. Children are confident to independently make their own choices in their play and learning. Staff support children to brush their teeth each day at the pre-school. This means that children are increasingly independent and learn skills they need for when they start school.
• Staff ensure that children who speak English as an additional language are fully included within the pre-school. Staff work very closely in partnership with parents. For example, they learn key words in their home language and include children's cultures and traditions in the curriculum planning. In addition, staff who speak additional languages support children's understanding of English.
• The managers are highly ambitious and passionate about the pre-school. They value the staff, their well-being and professional development. Staff benefit from regular supervision sessions and opportunities to further increase their skills and knowledge. Staff morale is exceptionally high and they feel extremely well supported. This contributes to the low staff turnover at the pre-school.