Clackclose Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their time in this friendly pre-school. They are warmly greeted at the door. Children are happy and engage confidently with staff, who know them well. Several children have formed very strong attachments with their key person. This helps them to feel safe and secure. Children's behaviour is good because staff act as good role models and recognise children's achievements. Children are spoken to in a calm manner and they are praised often. Children are kind and polite. Younger children are learning how to share, while older children use sand timers, so that they know when it is their turn to use popular equipment.

Children increase their confidence as they explore the environment, both inside and outside. They make choices for themselves. Children are well engaged throughout their time in the pre-school, as staff plan and provide activities that interest the them. All children are supported by the staff who get down to their level and provide guidance as needed. They help younger children to find out what happens when they fill a bucket with sand and turn it upside down. Staff encourage older children to work cooperatively as they construct a path of bricks, before negotiating their way over the narrow path.

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

• Staff support children's speech and language development effectively. They read stories and introduce new ideas and vocabulary. Children have lots of opportunities to sing songs and rhymes. They practise pronouncing sounds of words correctly during group times. Staff pose questions to help children to think and give them the opportunity to respond, in their own time.
• Older children use a computer as they explore the characteristics of different dinosaurs. Children name many of them correctly. Younger children show respect for living things. They learn to carefully handle worms and a ladybird that they find and use a magnifying glass to examine them more closely. Children learn to recognise numbers, count and calculate. Staff skilfully weave in mathematical concepts, as they talk and pose questions about the weather, the months of the year and the days of the week.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Staff swiftly identify those children who are at risk of falling behind. They engage with parents and work with other professionals. They tailor support to meet the children's individual needs, further supporting communication with pictorial images and simple sign language. This ensures that gaps in learning are reduced as quickly as possible.
• Children have good opportunities to be physical as they run, climb and peddle tricycles in the well-resourced garden. Children eat nutritious snacks. Children learn about the importance of oral health, as they practise using a toothbrush to clean a large set of model teeth.
• Children learn some independence skills as they help to tidy away toys. They take themselves to the toilet and know to wash their hands to get rid of germs. However, at times, staff do not support children to be as independent as they can be. For example, staff do things for older children, such as putting their shoes on, zipping up coats and resolving children's minor conflicts, which the children could otherwise have a go at themselves.
• Parents are positive about the pre-school. They feel well informed about their children's progress. Staff are sensitive to the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and their families. During national restrictions, they worked hard to help the children to continue their learning at home. However, more recently this support has reduced. As a result, parents are not provided with ways to further extend their child's learning, such as a love of reading, at home.
• All staff are well supported by the management team. New staff receive an effective induction and understand their roles. Staff receive regular supervision and complete mandatory training. However, supervision arrangements do not focus enough on supporting staff's continuous professional development and further enhancing their knowledge and skills, particularly with regard to ongoing delivery of the curriculum.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to make the most of teachable moments to help children to become as independent as they can be
• work more closely with parents to support them to extend their children's learning at home
• make better use of staff supervision to support staff's continuous professional development and enhance their skills, particularly with regard to delivering the curriculum.