Courtyard Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children benefit from a variety of experiences that are interesting and capture their attention. They are confident to join in with others, take part and have a go at new things. For instance, children collaborate with their friends to make a giant water run using guttering and tyres. They focus and concentrate on the task and listen to each other's ideas. They celebrate and cheer when they accomplish their goal of getting the water to run to the bottom of the ramp without leaking.

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

• Leaders have worked hard to enhance their curriculum and the teaching of mathematics. For instance, staff place a high focus ensuring children can count accurately, begin to recognise numerals and have a firm understanding of numbers one to five. They help children to enjoy mathematics in their everyday play and make good progress in this area.
• Staff encourage children to be expressive and creative. For example, they support children to make junk models and use brushes and sponges with water to make marks on the outside walls. Staff join in with children's make-believe games with enthusiasm. They pretend to cook pasta, write shopping lists and work at a car wash with the children. Children have lots of fun as they become immersed in their imaginative play.
• Leaders make sure staff clearly understand each child's individual needs and stage of development. They plan interesting and engaging activities for children. However, not all staff are clear what they specifically want children to learn or gain from them. Therefore, they do not always focus sharply on the precise learning intention.
• Children develop a love for books and reading. They spend time looking at books independently and with staff. Children use the pre-school's lending library to take books home to share with their parents and families. Staff support parents to continue children's learning at home.
• Staff engage in conversations with the children. They talk to children about what they are doing and ask them questions. Staff give children plenty of time to answer and express their thoughts and ideas. However, on some occasions, staff do not build and extend on ideas during conversations to provide children with deeper knowledge. Therefore, staff do not always stretch children's learning to an even higher level.
• Staff encourage children to be independent. Children recognise place mats with their pictures and name as they sit down for lunch. They have a go at opening the fastening on their lunch boxes. If children struggle, staff sensitively support them to persevere and offer them help when needed.
• Staff provide children plenty of opportunities to practise their physical skills. For instance, children develop coordination and control as they throw and catch balls of different sizes. They use pincers to pick up small objects and scissors to cut along lines on paper. They make good progress in their physical development and are well prepared for their next stage in learning.
• Leaders ensure any additional funding is used appropriately to best support children's needs. For example, they use funding to enable children to attend additional sessions at the pre-school. This enables children to spend more time developing their social skills with others and benefit from the experiences the pre-school offers.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• encourage staff to strengthen their conversations and interactions with children to deepen children's knowledge and stretch their learning to a even higher level.
• enhance support for staff, so that they all clearly understand and focus sharply on what they want children to learn from the activities they provide.