Easton Pre-School Group

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this extremely supportive home-from-home nursery. The nurturing leaders and staff provide bespoke settling-in processes, that promote children's well-being, and champion their individualities from the start. Regular, performing arts sessions, build children's self-esteem and confidence. Children feel a sense of belonging and swiftly become highly motivated learners. This is because staff are extremely sensitive in their interactions, and they provide activities that are familiar to them and match their interests. Children demonstrate high levels of respect for others and play cooperatively with their peers. These behaviours are elevated by the staff who consistently speak calmly and respectfully.

Children have access to amazing outdoor facilities. They benefit hugely from learning experiences in nature, with daily visits to the on-site farm, where they learn how to care for the animals and develop empathy for living things. Children are inquisitive, as they enthusiastically hunt for ants in the tree bark and count the ducks on the pond. Staff provide meaningful teaching to help children risk access environments themselves. When children point to mushrooms growing in the ground, staff gently remind them not to touch wild mushrooms as they could make them poorly. Children learn to explore them safely, when staff put them in a secure magnifying container.

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

• Overall, teaching is very good. Skilful staff use spontaneous opportunities to interact and extend children's learning and thinking skills. For example, when children find interesting leaves, staff encourage them to discover what tree they come from. Through discussions and excellent visual props introduced by staff, children correctly identify the leaves have fallen from a cherry tree. Staff maximise children's learning by encouraging them to look at differences and similarities between leaves, to identify the species.
• Children consistently use new vocabulary and staff prompt discussions that enables them to communicate effectively. Children speak with confidence, using a range of descriptive words, such as 'enormous', when describing sticks they have collected. Leaders and staff work closely with parents and outside agencies, such as speech and language professionals. This ensures children who have delays in their speech, are achieving their best outcomes. Singing daily rhymes help children pronounce initial letter sounds, which further supports their speech development.
• Children follow good hygiene routines before mealtimes and staff help them understand why this is important to their health. Children are becoming increasingly independent in their self-care needs and frequently show perseverance. For instance, when dressing to go outdoors, they only ask staff for help when they have attempted to do things themselves first.
• Staff carry out regular and effective assessments, to understand children's development and how to support their next steps in learning. On occasion, staff do not consistently consider making use of available resources to further support children's awareness and recognition of numbers or counting.
• Leaders continually reflect on their leadership practice and show the willingness to consistently improve. Leaders have a good overview of the nursery and offer effective supervision, ensuring staff have regular opportunities for training to enhance their practice. Staff report excellent well-being and express how they feel valued and supported to do a good job. Staff work well together and there is a strong team spirit.
• Parents say their children enjoy attending and they praise the caring and dedicated staff. Staff regularly share children's progress with parents and next steps they can review at home. Communication is reciprocal and staff make great use of information provided by parents, to plan activities that continually meet children's individual needs.
• Mealtimes are sociable occasions where children enjoy eating their healthy snacks. Staff make the most of the opportunity to interact with children who delight in talking about their day. Children build confidence and independence as they learn to recognise their names on their cups and practise pouring their own drinks.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus more closely on promoting children's developing awareness of numbers and counting.