Covingham Roundabout Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are confident learners who make choices about what to do and focus well on activities. Staff consult children at the end of the day to find out what they would like to do in the morning so they can quickly engage in their chosen play. Children are well behaved and evidently know the routines, such as putting away their lunch boxes and washing their hands before entering the rooms. Staff remind them of golden rules, such as not running indoors, to help them stay safe.

Staff know the children well and are keen to ensure that none are left behind in their learning. They understand what children need to do next to make progress and make sure that they cover these steps in both child- and adult-led activities. For example, they use snack time as a learning opportunity, talking about healthy eating and helping children to develop independent skills, such as peeling fruit, pouring their own drinks and using a knife.

The pre-school closed during the first lockdown but leaders used a communications app to keep in touch with parents. They gave parents ideas for things to work on at home with their children and parents fed back on these. Leaders made calls to check on the welfare of vulnerable children. When the pre-school reopened, there were positive changes to routines to protect the health of staff and children.

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

• Children have a good understanding of heathy eating and hygiene. They confidently wash their hands and staff talk to them about why this is necessary. Children discuss what foods are good for them and learn that some foods should only be for a treat. Children carefully wipe their own noses and then throw away their used tissues in the bin, demonstrating independence.
• Leaders have made many changes to improve the provision after recognising that they needed support. They have worked closely with their sister setting and the local authority. Leaders value staff who have attended training to develop their skills, such as that recently on the characteristics of effective learning. Staff have used what they learned to focus on not interrupting children's learning and on providing a safe space where children can place resources to return to later if they wish to.
• Staff regularly assess children's development to identify what they need to learn next. This informs the curriculum, which is based on what each child needs to make progress at their own pace. Staff focus on using the children's interests to spark their curiosity. For example, children that love sensory play explore foam soap and powder paints, mixing them together on the concrete outside.
• Parents report good communication with leaders and staff. They explain this is still good despite measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 (coronavirus). They find the communications app used by the staff informative. Parents describe giving staff varied information to establish what their children can already do when they start. This enables staff to establish starting points for children's learning.
• Staff establish good relationships with children and there is lively interaction and communication throughout the day. Staff make effective use of discussion, demonstration and questioning to develop children's critical thinking. For example, they ask children to estimate how many conkers they can throw into a box and what animals live in nests. Children chat to staff about a wide range of topics as they play.
• Children who speak English as an additional language are well supported. Staff find out about children's home languages and get key words from parents to help children communicate. They also display words and label some resources in the children's home languages so they can see familiar print. Staff use visual cues, body language and simple words to help children communicate. They explain to parents how they will support their child to learn English.
• Occasionally, staff fail to seek as much information as possible about each child before they start, to make settling in as smooth as possible.
• Sometimes, staff do not make the most of opportunities to introduce new vocabulary or to extend children's learning to the highest level.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on existing procedures to collect information from parents in a timely manner to make settling in as smooth as possible for every child
• develop further monitoring of staff practice to ensure more consistency, with particular regards to taking more opportunities to introduce new vocabulary and extend activities as much as possible to provide further support for children's learning.