Covingham Kingfisher Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their experiences at the pre-school. They arrive eagerly and are welcomed by the friendly staff. They settle well and choose activities that interest them. The children get on well together and communicate confidently. For example, outdoors, three- and four-year-olds invite their friends to race after them in the sit-in vehicles. They call to one another, laughing together, as they manoeuvre their cars at speed, negotiating obstacles skilfully. Children talk avidly with staff as they create dough cakes and add pasta candles to celebrate their birthdays. They count the 'candles' correctly and talk about shapes and sizes, showing good mathematical awareness. Two-, three- and four-year-olds behave exceptionally well. They are polite, follow instructions well, take turns and show respect for others, learning these skills from a young age. Children thoroughly enjoy outdoor play. They like to engage in physical and imaginative play. They recreate first-hand experiences as they take their 'babies' out for a walk and 'cook' meals, mixing soil in saucepans ready to 'feed' awaiting staff.

The long-established staff team members are enthusiastic in their roles. They show genuine warmth and kindness to the children. They instinctively offer the encouragement and support the children need to foster their all-round learning and development.

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

• Staff plan activities that reflect children's interests and build on what they know and can do. The number of children on roll is low and all staff know every child attending well. They all know children's individual care and learning needs. This includes children who require extra support to achieve in their development. The manager and staff hold weekly planning meetings to share their observations of children's progress and to plan for their future learning. They use topical themes to build activities around and adapt these to respond to learning opportunities that arise spontaneously. A suitably varied curriculum is offered. It covers all areas of learning successfully. As a result, children make good progress in their learning and development.
• The manager and staff have created an inviting learning environment for the three- and four-year-old children. However, the large room for the two-year-old children lacks the welcoming feel that the other rooms have and fails to complement the positive interactions children receive from staff caring for them. Although there are some activities that interest the children, there are not many that inspire imagination and role play, problem solving, enjoyment of books and quiet time.
• Staff work well in partnership with the local school that many children transfer to. They ensure that children are suitably prepared in readiness for school.
• Partnership working with other settings that children attend, such as childminders, are not established. Therefore, staff cannot be sure that the experiences they offer children complement those they have elsewhere.
• Children learning English as an additional language receive good support and quickly develop their vocabulary. Staff actively encourage conversation and ensure all children are fully included. Snack and mealtimes are social occasions when staff and children have all sorts of dialogue. For example, children chat about experiences they have at pre-school and with their families. A child spontaneously starts singing along to music they hear and soon others in the group join in enthusiastically. During activities, staff ask children questions to encourage language and thinking, drawing on children's past experiences and to build on previous learning.
• Partnership with parents is good. Parents continue to drop and collect their children outside the building, following changes in operation due to the COVID- 19 pandemic. Staff ensure that parents are well informed about their children's activities and progress. Parents report that they are very happy with their children's progress and praise the staff highly. The manager shares suggestions of activities parents can do at home to support their children's learning routinely. She highlights local events that may be of interest to the families and also offers support to parents. For example, she helps parents to seek funding and any extra help they need. Parents are also invited to join their children for special events, such as Harvest and Mother's Day celebrations. For example, children and their parents enjoyed sharing apples and cake recently to celebrate Harvest, and earlier in the year, children served their mums afternoon tea, demonstrating their independence skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• work in partnership with other settings children attend to foster two-way communication, to ensure children's learning experiences complement those they receive elsewhere
• create a warmer, welcoming environment for two-year-olds and provide a wider variety of activities that inspire imagination, problem solving, enjoyment of books and quiet time.