Community House Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children and their families flourish at this inspirational setting. The management team demonstrates excellent leadership and professionalism, putting quality care and the community at the heart of its practice. Children are highly valued by the encouraging and nurturing staff. Relationships between staff, children and parents are exceptionally strong. These secure relationships help children to feel happy and safe as they play and learn. Staff expertly teach a curriculum that gives every child the lifelong skills they need to support their future learning. As a result, all children make exceptional progress from their starting points in development. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Children demonstrate high levels of well-being and their behaviour is excellent. Their independence in all aspects of their learning and self-care is superb. Staff diligently provide opportunities for children to be autonomous throughout the day. Children wash and dry their own feet after making paint and mud footprints outside. Even the youngest children demonstrate their independence as they set the table, serve their own food and skilfully pour their own drinks. Children show they are extremely confident and curious learners. They show remarkably high levels of engagement in their learning and demonstrate resilience and perseverance. For instance, they spend long periods of time intently working together to make an obstacle course and challenge each other to make it more difficult.

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

• Staff know children extremely well. There is a strong key-person system in place. During home visits and the settling-in process, staff accurately record children's starting points in development. They use their regular observations and monitoring to quickly identify and bridge any gaps in children's learning. Staff support parents to seek advice from other professionals.
• Children demonstrate exemplary behaviour, manners and conduct. They are motivated and curious. For example, children choose whether they want to play in the role-play area, juice an orange and lemon or make dough at the play dough station. Children experience new learning in practical ways.
• Children's early communication and language development is a key strength at the setting. Interactions between children and staff are exceptional. Staff expertly tune into each child and repeat back the correct pronunciation of words. Children who speak English as an additional language settle quickly. Staff work closely with parents to learn key words and phrases. The bilingual staff team also speak to children and parents in their home languages. Staff make books and singing an integral part of children's day.
• Staff promote healthy lifestyles expertly with children. They provide children with nutritious, balanced meals and snacks. Children take part in preparing lunches for their friends. They develop an excellent understanding about eating healthily as they recall growing carrots in the garden. Staff support parents with family cooking workshops and share recipes and ingredients with parents. This supports parents to share cooking experiences with their children at home.
• Staff are mindful of children's experiences and backgrounds, and use additional funding to provide activities to widen children's life experiences. For example, staff recognise that some children live in flats and do not have gardens. They have, therefore, added enhancements to the outdoor area to provide physical development activity linked to children's interests.
• Managers have an exceptional focus on staff's well-being. They support, mentor and value staff. Staff are extremely knowledgeable and passionate. Staff are dedicated and happy. They receive specific training to meet the needs of the children that attend. For instance, staff have attended outdoor learning training to extend the already superb learning opportunities for children. The strong team spirit among staff and their enthusiasm leads to a highly motivating environment, where all children are deeply engrossed as they play.
• Partnership with parents is excellent. Parents and grandparents speak extremely highly of the support they have received from the setting, not just for their children but for the whole family. They comment that staff do a 'stunning job'. Staff provide support for parents which includes supporting them to apply for reception places at school, as well as advice to support their children through different developmental stages. Parents value the food bank service and clothing boutique that staff provide.