Crescent Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children eagerly come into the pre-school and are keen to start playing. They are warmly greeted by staff and other children who give each other hugs as they arrive. Children are polite and well mannered. Overall, they listen and follow instructions given by staff. Children know the rules and boundaries of the pre-school.

Staff support children as they learn to be independent in everyday routines. For example, children learn how to pour their own milk for snack. Staff include mathematical language in children's play to develop their skills. For example, they talk about different shapes as they play with puzzles. Staff and children develop good partnerships within the local community. For instance, they visit the residents of a local care home as well as taking part in activities, such as the local school's fete.

Staff develop children's self-confidence and self-esteem as they encourage them to keep trying at things they find difficult while praising their efforts. Children then take pride in what they have achieved, such as shooting a ball through a basketball hoop or scoring a goal with a football. Staff challenge children's thinking and encourage them to think about 'why'. For example, why do we use umbrellas in the rain? This helps children to think through different concepts and encourages problem solving as children excitedly come up with answers.

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

• The curriculum is sequenced and ambitious for all children in the pre-school. Managers know their children very well and have designed a curriculum that meets the needs of the children in their care while extending and challenging their learning and development.
• Overall, children behave well. Staff remind children of the behaviour expectations as and when needed using visual prompts. For example, staff remind children to use their indoor voices when the volume increases over lunch.
• All children make good progress in their learning and development including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children who are meeting their targets have their learning extended and challenged even further. For example, staff tailor an activity with building blocks to each child. They ask some children questions that involve adding and subtracting large numbers and with other children they count one to three. This means that children benefit from learning that meets the age and stage of development that they are at.
• Children's communication and language skills are supported well by staff. They use adult led activities to build children's vocabulary through games. For example, they learn about prepositions as they help 'Incy Wincy spider' find his friends.
• Children highly benefit from focused adult led activities which, in particular, help develop children's listening and attention skills. However, at times, the organisation of adult led activities does not meet the needs of all the children. For example, quieter children are sometimes overlooked when everyone is outside together and some children become fidgety and restless when sitting on the carpet for too long.
• Staff well-being is well supported with staff feeling that they can raise concerns whenever they need to. Staff also have access to regular training. Managers are able to identify strengths and weaknesses in staff practice. For example, they are aware that there are some inconsistencies in staff's knowledge of the curriculum. However, staff support and coaching is not fully focused on these weaknesses to help swiftly develop staff practice.
• Managers have a really good understanding of what their children with SEND need to thrive. They work well with other professionals to ensure children receive the support they need. This includes supporting children with their transitions to school. Managers use additional funding appropriately to support the needs of the children. For example, funding is used to enhance the provision by providing quiet and calm spaces where children can go if they would like to spend some time on their own.
• Parents comment on the good communication between themselves and staff. They feel that their children's needs are met well. This includes staff providing support for children's home learning by sharing ideas for their development.
• Leaders show an understanding of how to promote children's safety and well-being. They take appropriate action to rectify any issues that arise. For example, following recent breaches to requirements relating to risk assessment and ratios, they have swiftly put matters right. This helps promote children's welfare.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on staff's skills in consistently supporting all children to fully engage with the learning experiences offered, with particular regard to quieter children
• develop further coaching and training to strengthen staff practice.