Dundry Pre-school

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff meet children's emotional needs well, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Children are greeted by familiar and friendly staff. They happily enter the pre-school and are keen and ready to learn. They quickly find their friends and play nicely together, taking turns.

Staff plan the learning environment well to provide a broad range of experiences that consider children's interests. Children freely choose where to take their learning. This may be building dens in the hall, engaging in a focused dough activity or investigating outside. Children develop good communication and language skills. They confidently explain how the yoghurt has been frozen like ice cream and how it is 'freezing' their mouths. Children love singing familiar songs, joining in with actions and listening intently to rhyming stories. Children have a wealth of opportunities to use their developing language. They talk about the shapes they have made in the play dough, while confidently using a variety of tools. They use mathematical language to describe how they are dividing the dough into two, then four, pieces.

Children persevere well. They know to wash their hands after playing in the paint and explore different ways to remove the stubborn patches. They decide to fill the bowl using the water pump, describing it as 'like a waterfall'. Children know that if they fill the bowl too much it will overflow and wet the floor. Staff praise them for their good problem-solving skills, and they gain high levels of self-esteem.

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

• Staff have good knowledge of what children know and can do. They use flexible settling-in arrangements to gather relevant information from parents so that they can plan initial experiences. Staff make frequent observations of children's learning and know what they need to learn next.
• Staff build on children's curiosity. For example, children explore magnets independently, making discoveries for themselves. Staff provide positive interactions that help children learn new vocabulary, such as how the magnets 'stick' or 'pull'. Staff guide learning well, challenging children to predict how the magnets will move and then test their ideas. Children use these new-found skills in their imaginative play. For example, they create Christmas decorations under the tables with the different coloured magnets linked together.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive support in a fully inclusive environment where staff meet their individual needs successfully. Staff know their key children well and develop targeted support plans to help them make progress. Staff use any additional funding well, for example, to enhance ratios and provide small group opportunities to encourage listening and attention.
• On occasion, staff do not make the best use of group activities. For example, children have a long wait before it is their turn to have a go on the obstacle course and are not fully engaged in their learning. That said, when it is their turn, children balance, climb and throw successfully, developing good physical skills.
• Confident children, who have attended the pre-school for a while, feel secure in daily routines. Staff provide clear verbal guidance so that children understand expectations. For example, staff lead a group activity with the youngest children, explaining that they will sing the welcome song to help a new starter learn each other's names. However, staff do not consistently use the resources available to them, such as visual timelines and signing, to support children's understanding even further.
• Parents value the support provided by caring staff. Staff meet children's care needs successfully. They follow practices that keep children safe and healthy, such as ensuring that accidents are treated by those staff who have paediatric first-aid training. They have good knowledge of any special dietary requirements or allergies and know how to respond to any reactions promptly.
• The provider offers effective support to the newly created management team as managers adjust to their new roles. Staff have good opportunities for professional development, overall. There are appropriate induction arrangements. However, some training is not offered promptly to ensure greater knowledge of some procedures.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• use the resources available to help newer and less-confident children understand the routines of the day and expectations to support better engagement in their learning
• provide further support and guidance to help new staff and those staff in new positions to become acquainted with their roles and responsibilities promptly.