Constantine Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are highly independent, confident and inquisitive learners. They have very secure attachments to staff, which underpins their learning. Staff plan an extremely enabling environment, which promotes high curiosity and children's deep engagement. Staff are skilful at listening to children, acknowledging their ideas and extending their learning further. For example, children explain how they know a flower is a buttercup because if you hold it to your chin, it shows if you like butter. This leads to an excellent conversation about how you make butter from milk. Staff provide outstanding support for children's language and communication skills, especially for those with special educational needs. They use different ways of communicating to meet every child's needs. They ask very good open-ended questions and give children plenty of time to think and respond, which challenges children extremely well with extending their vocabulary. For example, as they talk about animals, children learn what 'nocturnal' means. Staff are excellent role models. For example, they say, 'I wonder if I can pick this up with tweezers?' They attempt to do so and then children do the same. Staff have extremely high expectations of what children can achieve and set challenging activities. For example, children become experts at safely lighting fires. Parents no longer enter the pre-school as they did before the COVID-19 pandemic. They comment extremely positively about the excellent communication and support. Parents particularly mention the staff's nurturing encouragement and how children are making 'unbelievable progress'.

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

• Staff get to know children and their families extremely well. At the beginning of every session, they discuss each child's needs and constantly observe the children to know exactly how to support and challenge them, so that they all make excellent progress.
• Staff expertly encourage children to be inquisitive and notice the environment. For example, children want to know what words say and comment that plants have different leaves. They notice daffodils that have not yet flowered.
• Children's behaviour is exemplary. They are extremely resilient and have high levels of perseverance. For example, older children stride out to climb up hill and young children keep plodding on with a smile on their face, so pleased with themselves when they reach the top.
• Staff provide expert support for children to learn to value themselves, each other, their families, the community and nature. Staff support children's emotional security extremely well and empower children to make decisions. They thank children and acknowledge their feelings. Staff sensitively let children know that they can see if they are upset and help them to resolve the problem. Children soon bounce back and are happy again.
• Staff provide excellent support for children to become extremely independent. They help children to do as much as they can for themselves and sensitively encourage them. For example, they say that practising means that one day they will be an expert. Children keep on trying and are determined to succeed.
• Partnerships with parents and outside agencies are extremely effective. The manager works exceptionally well with parents and provides training, resources and advice. Parents cannot speak highly enough about the staff and especially the manager and her support. They confirm that children with special educational needs are rapidly improving because of the expert help they and their children receive.
• The manager and deputy are very strong role models. They have very high ambition for children and high expectations of their staff. They meticulously evaluate the quality of the provision, seek parents', staff's and children's views, and set targeted actions to continuously improve. For example, they have developed the outdoor area for those who prefer to learn outdoors.
• The manager monitors children's well-being because she has an excellent understanding of how children's emotions can impact on their development. She ensures that all staff receive training to equip them with the skills they need to provide outstanding support for all children. For example, staff have received mindfulness training and have been trained in special educational needs.
• Staff confirm the excellent support they receive for both their professional development and their well-being. For example, they appreciate the skills they learn from opportunities to observe the manager and deputy engaging with the children. The manager is supported in her role by a strong committee.