Condover Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are enthusiastic and independent learners. Older children harmoniously play together and have good social skills. They develop storylines in their role play, such as pretending to swim like sharks. Together, they make plans for the pretend cooking in the sand. Children recognise the benefits of working together and say that 'They did good teamwork'. Older children learn to control their feelings and emotions. They stop themselves from saying things to friends that could be unkind.

Children happily arrive at the pre-school. They have formed close attachments to the staff, who are friendly and nurturing. Staff are positive role models and children respond well to their gentle reminders about what is expected from them. Children behave well and develop a sense of responsibility. Older children take food orders from their friends and create a tally chart to show which fruits they need for snack. This helps to support their early mark-making skills.

Staff have created an exciting learning environment, that motivates children to play, explore and make new discoveries. Older children work together to use chalks to make extensive road systems on the floor outdoors. Younger children know where their favourite resources are stored and access these independently. They make confident choices about what they want to play with.

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

• The recently appointed manager has a clear vision for the pre-school. She has already implemented effective changes to enhance the learning experiences for children who attend. The manager has prioritised children's safety and works with the committee to ensure that they meet their legal responsibilities.
• Staff benefit from some effective supervision and training. For example, experienced staff have recently completed a government-initiated training programme. This has helped them to extend their already good practice, particularly to support children's communication and language development. However, the manager has not yet implemented fully effective coaching and training to support less-experienced staff, to build on their knowledge and teaching skills.
• Overall, the manager and staff have a well-designed education programme to help children to build on their knowledge and skills. Their curriculum aims for children's physical development are excellent. The manager has identified what they want two-year-old children to learn. However, this education programme is not matched as precisely as possible in all areas of learning, to the specific needs of the two-year-old children who currently attend.
• There is an effective key-person system in place. Each child benefits from a dedicated key person to plan for their learning and liaise well with parents and other professionals who are involved in their care. The special educational needs coordinator ensures that personalised planning is in place and implemented to help children with special educational needs and/disabilities to progress in their learning. All children progress well from their starting points. They develop a secure foundation for their future learning and school. The manager and staff carefully monitor each child's progress and identify what they need to learn next.
• Staff skilfully support children's communication and language development. They have a very clear understanding of how to help children to extend their language skills. Two-year-old children clearly express their needs and wishes using words and gestures. Staff help older children to speak in grammatically correct sentences, such as using the correct verb tenses. They successfully support children to develop a good vocabulary.
• Older children develop good levels of concentration and have clear plans for their play. They are self-motivated to learn. They know what materials they need to enhance their art creations and announce, 'I need some sparkle'. Children develop good physical skills. They deeply concentrate as they use scissors to trim herb plants. They know that the scissors are only sharp enough to cut the thinner stems. Children thoroughly enjoy opportunities to be physically active. This includes practising their ball control skills, balancing and jumping.
• Staff challenge children well to gain good levels of independence. Children confidently complete their self-care routines. They learn when they need to wash their hands. Staff effectively support children's health. Children identify which foods are healthy and unhealthy in their lunch boxes.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review and enhance the education programme for two-year-old children to ensure this is precisely matched to their learning needs
• implement more focused training for less-experienced staff to help raise their knowledge and skills to the highest level.