Claremont Community Pre-school

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy to meet and play with their friends. Staff take the time to get to know children and their families well. Children form strong attachments with staff. This helps them to feel safe and secure, ready to begin their learning. Staff display kindness towards children and are positive role models. Children understand and follow routines well. They enjoy group time each day, where they say 'hello' to one another and sing well-known nursery rhymes with joy. Children behave well and have a good attitude to their learning.

Staff place an importance on building children's communication, language and literacy skills. Children learn language through staff talking during their play, asking questions, and giving children time to think and respond. Children enjoy singing and clap in enjoyment to familiar songs. Children approach staff to share books, and they recall parts of the story that they remember. Parents have access to book bags to share with their children at home. All children, including those who speak English as an additional language, make good progress in their communication skills. Leaders and staff have high expectations for every child, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to reach their full potential. Staff attend regular training so that their teaching is of a good standard to support children.

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

• Leaders are ambitious for every child. The curriculum covers all areas of learning so that children are provided with rich learning experiences. Staff monitor children's development. They base their planning for children's next steps in learning on what children know now and what they need to learn next. Staff skilfully use children's interests to engage them in learning.
• The leader understands the importance of supporting her staff. She uses regular supervision meetings to check on staff's well-being and to have discussions about key children. The leader identifies staff's training needs so that their practice is constantly reflected on and improvements can be made. Staff feel that they are well supported by the leader within the nursery.
• Children build on their physical skills in a variety of ways. Outside, children enjoy jumping on tree stumps, climbing the slide and using the see-saw. They use large arm movements to create pictures with paint on a large canvas. Children use paintbrushes and their hands to swish and swirl the paint. They whoop with delight as they mix colours and create new colours for their picture. Babies enjoy using the small trampoline and copy their friends as they begin to learn to bend their knees to bounce with the support of staff.
• Children have lots of opportunities to share their own ideas and observations. As they sit in a group, staff ask them what the weather is like today. Children recognise that it is sunny as they look outside. Some children share that it 'is not rainy'. This creates time for children to talk about the environment around them. Staff praise their comments, and children demonstrate their confidence by sharing further observations.
• Staff provide children with freshly prepared and nutritious meals. They learn about what makes their bodies healthy. Staff teach children about the importance of good dental hygiene and why they need to clean their teeth. Children have regular physical exercise, and they show joy when they are playing outside with their friends.
• Parents speak highly of the nursery. They appreciate the regular communication they receive about their child and what they have been learning. Parents report that the settling-in process helps to reassure them that their child is supported and looked after well. They like that they can stay with their child until both the child and parent are ready and confident with the pre-school.
• Children learn about mathematics through counting and exposure to shapes around them. However, staff do not teach children consistently about mathematical concepts and language throughout the pre-school, to support their problem-solving skills.
• Children learn independence skills in a variety of ways. Staff teach them to wash their hands before mealtimes and empty uneaten food from their plates in a large bowl after meals. However, occasionally, staff do not encourage young children to complete tasks independently at mealtimes when they are able.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• plan consistent opportunities to develop and extend children's mathematical skills
• ensure that all staff provide effective opportunities for young children to carry out tasks by themselves.