Clare Bears Community Pre-School Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are welcomed into the pre-school by friendly staff. Once inside, children quickly settle into their play where there is a rich variety of activities on offer. Staff know the children extremely well and help them make good progress from their starting points. They model language effectively, supporting children to develop good vocabulary and communication skills. Staff identify those children in need of extra language support and provide small-group activities for them.

Children behave particularly well. They understand the pre-school rules and values. Staff support children to understand how to communicate their feelings to others. For example, when a child has their toy taken by another child, the member of staff helps them to resolve this by encouraging them to cooperate. Children are motivated to learn. They show positive attitudes as they curiously explore coloured spaghetti, making pretend food for the adults. Children demonstrate that they feel happy and confident around staff and visitors to the pre-school. During the COVID- 19 (coronavirus) pandemic, some children did not attend, while other children started at this pre-school. Staff provided parents with activity ideas to help them support their children's learning at home.

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

• The managers accurately identify children who need additional support. Staff provide targeted group work to help narrow gaps in children's learning. They work closely with parents to share information on their children's next steps for learning. Parents report that they are extremely happy with their children's progress.
• Staff have high expectations of all children. They know where children are in their learning and what they need to do to move them on. They help children understand the routines of the day. For example, staff let children know, using a tambourine, how much time they have left to finish their activity.
• Parents are extremely well supported in this inclusive setting. They report that they are regularly updated and have a clear understanding of their child's progress. For example, staff use an outside photograph board to keep parents updated on the activities and snacks provided, as parents cannot currently enter the building because of restrictions in place due to the pandemic.
• Children benefit from access to a small courtyard garden and enjoy exploring the local park. They frequently explore the local community. They visit allotments, to help them to understand where food comes from. Recently, children and staff attended a local book shop to choose reference books donated to them.
• Older children delight in joining in with story time. They use props to help recreate the story and enthusiastically recall the next events. Children excitedly join in with key phrases from 'The Three Little Pigs' story. Most children participate with the whole story. However, some younger children lose interest and become distracted as the story is too long.
• The managers give high regard to the well-being of staff. Staff report feeling valued and say that they enjoy their work. They have regular individual support meetings to review their practice. The managers regularly observe the staff and offer feedback. This helps staff to reflect on their practice and identify improvements.
• The managers ensure that children receive any additional funding that they are entitled to. Parents are kept informed of this. However, the managers do not seek parents' views on how the funding could be spent, to ensure that it is used to support their children's learning.
• The managers have very clear aims for what they want children to learn. The curriculum is well implemented through planned, purposeful activities. This helps children to develop the skills and knowledge to be ready for the next stage of their learning, such as moving on to school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to understand how to adapt activities to enable individual children to be appropriately supported in their learning
• involve parents in deciding how additional funding for their child is spent.