Clarence House Wellingborough Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter the pre-school happily and quickly settle. They are greeted eagerly by their friends and by friendly staff. Staff work well to meet the individual needs of children and ably share relevant information that parents give to them across the pre-school team. Children feel safe here. They have strong relationships with staff and are quick to ask them for support. Children practise and develop their social skills. They learn how to be kind to their friends and are learning to share with each other.

Staff have high expectations for children's learning. They plan a curriculum that is matched to children's interests and their learning needs. Children enjoy learning both indoors and outdoors. All children, including children who speak English as an additional language, are learning to communicate well. Staff use spontaneous activities to support children to extend their mathematical knowledge. For example, when children paint, they practise naming colours and name the shapes they are creating. Staff find out what children are interested in and use this to encourage them to talk to others. For example, children talk about the fruit at snack time and about experiences from home, such as a recent trip to the shop to buy strawberries.

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

• Staff use an established pre-school routine to structure the day for the children. Children follow the routine well, sometimes without staff needing to prompt them. For example, at snack time, several children independently wash their own hands before sitting at the table. Other children need support and staff are attentive to their individual needs. Staff plan effectively for all children, including those who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Children settle quickly and this means they are ready to learn. Staff support all children to understand and manage their own behaviour. For instance, when two children struggle to share at the sand tray, staff support them, engage them in conversation and offer them different resources. Staff encourage children to think about each other and talk to children about sharing and taking turns. However, sometimes, behaviour can escalate, and some staff need further support to manage this.
• Staff encourage all children to develop physical skills indoors and outdoors. Outdoors, there is room to run around and climb, along with places to dig and explore. Indoors, children are exploring toy crocodiles in a sand tray. Children work with staff to access information about crocodiles on a laptop. After watching a short video clip of a crocodile, staff encourage children to copy the crocodile as he slowly wades through the mud before swimming fast through the water.
• During play, children talk about the crocodile's teeth being dirty and why teeth need to be clean. They spend time with staff, who sometimes support their knowledge and understanding in a variety of ways. For example, through discussion, staff find out what a small group of children already know and then extend this through sensitive questioning and computer-based research. However, staff do not consistently develop and extend learning opportunities that build on children's thinking and/or sustain their interests. For example, staff busily prepare a painting activity and miss an opportunity to work with children who are keen to explore mixing colours.
• Staff take account of children's backgrounds and any feedback from parents. Staff work with parents to support children through transitions, such as toilet training and changes in sleep patterns. Staff share information about children's development with parents using an online system and face to face during drop-off and collection times. Parents know who their child's key person is and know who to talk to if they need support or information. Parents speak highly of the home-from-home care that their children receive while they are at pre-school.
• The leadership team supports all staff to engage with training, including apprenticeships, in-house training and degree-level development. The leadership team implements a robust recruitment process and staff are supported to work across all areas of the pre-school. Staff comment that they feel highly valued and supported in their work with children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide appropriate support for staff to help them manage children's behaviour
• strengthen staff's teaching so that they can consistently help children to know more and learn more.