Christ Church Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy when they come into the pre-school. They are welcomed by the friendly staff, who help children to leave their parents and carers with confidence. Inside the hall, children choose the activities and resources they would like to use and play with. They have space to experiment and move around, which contributes to children's ability to be creative. Staff use their skills to build on children's interests, to make teaching memorable. For example, children show an interest in what it is like to visit the doctor. Staff set up a role-play area for children to explore the equipment a doctor might use. Children wrap bandages on their friends and talk with staff about parts of the body and how to keep healthy. This helps children to develop an awareness of their bodies and different roles people have in their community.

Themes such as superheroes capture children's imaginations. Staff use this theme to remind children of simple rules and qualities. When children dress in costumes, staff ask if they are being kind, pointing to the characters displayed on the wall. Children respond positively, contributing to the good behaviour in the pre-school.

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

• Staff have a clear ethos: to support children to become curious, motivated learners. They embrace children's self-chosen play and exploration and skilfully link the focused learning for individual children to the children's activities. This contributes to the good progress children make.
• Children foster a love of books and stories. They listen intently while staff read stories using expressions to help maintain interest and excitement. Staff pause to check children's understanding of words or phrases they hear. Simple explanations help children to build on their vocabularies in a meaningful way.
• The manager and her staff work well as a team. Together, they reflect on the quality of education through daily discussions about the activities children have joined in with that day. They plan when and how activities should be repeated and extended, contributing to a clear sequence of learning in the curriculum.
• Children who speak English as an additional language are well supported. Staff find out key words from parents in the language children speak at home. This aids communication right from the start. Different cultures are celebrated in the pre-school. All the children discover information about traditions and festivals, which helps them to learn about the wider world and different communities.
• Staff carefully arrange the room each day. Despite the limited outside space, children have continual opportunities to strengthen their muscles through physical activity. For example, they carefully balance on blocks, negotiate a tunnel and climb on a frame. Staff rotate the equipment throughout the day, providing children with new experiences and different ways to help promote their physical development.
• Children are not rushed at snack time. After washing their hands, they take their time to enjoy the wide variety of nutritious food provided. Staff sit with children, encouraging them to take turns to pour their drinks and to clear away their plates and cups when they have finished. As children grow, their desire to carry out tasks for themselves is evident and helps to set a good example for their younger friends.
• The management committee has a good overview of the quality of care and education in the pre-school. The committee understands its roles and responsibilities to help ensure that statutory requirements are met. The manager has regular conversations with the chair of the committee to ensure that information is shared in a timely manner. However, individual supervision sessions are not highly effective to help to identify and monitor any areas requiring further coaching and support for the manager or staff swiftly.
• When children first start in the pre-school, key persons gather information from parents about children's interests, medical conditions, such as allergies, and about children's home lives. This helps staff to identify toys and activities that children like, which supports them to feel welcome in the pre-school. However, staff do not gather sufficiently detailed information about what children already know and can do. As a result, children's learning is not maximised right from the start.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review and enhance the current methods for regular individual supervision for both the manager and staff to help identify and monitor areas for further coaching and support
• gather even more focused information from parents about what their children can already do and understand when they first start in the pre-school.