Coniston Early Years Centre incorporating St Chad's Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff welcome children warmly as they arrive at the pre-school. They show kindness and offer patient reassurance to help new children settle. Children form close relationships with their key person and the other staff. Staff share lots of information with parents. Parents say that they are so grateful for the time and effort that staff put in to supporting their children.

The manager leads staff in the implementation of their plans for children's learning. They set out the areas well and evaluate the children's use of the rooms to make changes, enhancing children's enjoyment and the smooth running of the pre-school. Children relish the many sensory opportunities available, such as painting, exploring sand and making play dough. Children benefit from the freedom to move between the indoor and outdoor spaces. Staff are particularly mindful of children who prefer to learn and explore outside. Children enjoy suitably risky play in the wonderful gardens. They delight in exploring outside on a rainy day, sliding down grassy banks and splashing in puddles. They hunt for bugs, collecting these in tubs and discussing their different characteristics with staff. Children develop positive attitudes to learning and develop their skills well, including children who speak English as an additional language and two-year-olds in receipt of funding.

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

• Key persons use accurate observations and assessments to identify the next steps in children's learning. They act promptly if children are behind their expected development. They liaise with the special educational needs coordinator (SENDCo) and parents, putting in place additional support. Children make good progress; this includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those in receipt of additional funding.
• Staff quickly give reassurance and support when children are upset or struggling to understand expectations. Children show respect for staff, listening to them, and begin to share toys and play cooperatively. Staff offer timely and effective help for children who require particularly perceptive intervention and additional support to help them manage their emotions and behaviour.
• The manager and SENDCo have useful links within the local community. They liaise with the neighbouring school and children's centre, working with them to support families effectively. The trained forest school staff lead sessions for children in a local woodland, offering children very beneficial opportunities to learn about and experience nature. Staff also visit the pre-school's off-site allotment garden regularly with the children, where they plant and grow a range of items.
• Each child's key person links with parents when children start, to gain knowledge of the children's needs and interests. However, sometimes staff do not always gain as much information as possible, such as useful key words in children's home languages, to help staff support children's understanding as they settle in. Additionally, they do not liaise with providers of other settings children attend. This affects their ability to provide a consistent approach for children and ensure that they make the best possible progress.
• Children develop their sense of responsibility well. They help tidy away toys. They change their shoes and work hard to get their wet-weather clothes on to go out in the garden, listening carefully to the staff's well-placed tips. They take an active part in mealtimes. They select items independently and pour their own drinks, then conscientiously put their snack bowl and cup in the washing-up bowl when they have finished. They are keen to do things for themselves and are proud of their achievements.
• Staff lead beneficial small-group sessions to develop children's social and communication skills. Staff ask probing questions as children explore to encourage them to think and discuss their ideas. Children practise their skills as they talk about insects they find in the garden. Staff model new words, such as camouflage, extending children's skills appropriately. However, occasionally, staff do not adapt their teaching or support for children during activities and routines of the day to fully extend children's engagement and learning.
• Staff's well-being is thoughtfully considered, and staff say they feel well supported. The manager has individual supervision meetings with staff to discuss their performance and development. She supports apprentices and other staff to undertake early years qualifications. The manager undertakes some informal observation of staff practice. She recognises that these processes need further extension to help develop staff teaching skills to higher levels.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend the information gained from parents and other settings children attend, and provide a more consistent approach to the support children receive
• support all staff to flexibly adapt activities and the routines of the day, ensuring children's continued attention and engagement
• extend the support for the observation and development of staff teaching, helping all staff interact and support children's learning to consistently high levels.