Cromdale Way Pre-school

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff welcome children warmly to the nursery. They remind children of their recent play and interests and what is now provided for their learning. Staff support new children to settle calmly. Children are happy and make many friends. They show they feel valued by staff and their behaviour demonstrates that they feel safe, such as when they approach the staff for cuddles.

The manager has established a well-thought-out curriculum. Through training, coaching and support for staff, she makes sure that the curriculum is delivered effectively. This means that learning activities are matched to the children's interests and development. Children learn about important adult roles, such as that of the park keeper, as well as fire fighters and police officers. They develop the skills and knowledge that they need to know.

Children thrive at the nursery. They play in harmony with each other, for instance they are calm and at ease. This is because of staff's careful modelling of behaviour, such as how to cooperate with other people. Staff help children skilfully to learn what activities are next in the nursery's daily routine. Children live up to staff's high expectations of positive behaviour. For example, children know when it is time to stop playing and listen.

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

• The manager has established a well-designed curriculum that supports children to learn essential information. For example, she ensures that children learn how to make friends, be imaginative and build strong muscles. Children also develop important knowledge, such as about the features of their local area and how to look after the environment.
• Staff implement the curriculum for physical development well. For example, staff support the children to use large crates and building blocks to build, climb and balance outdoors. This helps children to learn to stand up and not fall over, to move around obstacles and to coordinate their movements.
• Staff make sure that learning is fascinating and stimulating for children. For example, staff arrange plastic guttering, sloped over a water tray outdoors, and help children to explore how water moves. Children explore and concentrate well. They are motivated and curious to learn new knowledge, such as scientific facts about water.
• Staff provide many opportunities for children to use language. They sing and repeat many songs and rhymes with them. Staff encourage children to link their own physical movement to specific language, such as when marching as they sing 'The Grand Old Duke of York'. Staff's thoughtful approach helps children to learn and remember important new words.
• Staff place high value on sharing books with children. Sometimes, staff deliberately miss out some words when reading familiar stories aloud. They help children to remember and say the missing words, which they do with delight. Children develop a joy for books.
• Staff support children's personal development well, including developing their character. For instance, they join in children's play, using different voices and pretending to be characters on a toy pirate ship. Children develop their imagination and their knowledge about what is like to be someone else.
• Staff use assessment strategies carefully so that they can identify children's individual needs and interests and spot gaps in children's learning. Overall, staff use this information well to provide children with meaningful learning. Nevertheless, staff do not support children's learning as successfully when they organise the nursery's routine. This means that some of children's learning is not extended.
• Staff promote children's independence effectively. For example, they encourage and support children to use a scoop to gather beans for their toast. They help children, including two-year-olds, to pull on their own hats and wellington boots. Children can complete a range of important tasks for themselves.
• Mostly, staff work with parents successfully. Parents benefit from staff's guidance to support their children's learning at home. However, although the manager shares the curriculum with parents, current systems are not effective in helping to guide them. As a result, the manager and staff do not consistently enable children to learn about making healthy food choices. This affects children's understanding of choosing healthy lifestyles.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• embed systems to work collaboratively with parents to promote children's good health even further with regard to making healthy food choices
• strengthen support for children's learning when organising the nursery's routines.