Epiphany Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Friendly staff welcome children and parents at the door and children settle quickly. Children form good relationships with all staff, which helps them to feel secure. Children show they are happy and confident as they independently choose toys to play with and join in with the enticing activities staff provide. For example, children smile and say 'cheese' with their friends as they play with cameras, use tweezers to pick up different coloured pom poms and put them in hoops, and investigate different size pipes and balls in the water tray. This enthusiasm for learning helps all children make good progress from their starting points.

Staff plan a wide range of learning opportunities both inside and outside. For instance, children enjoy independently navigating the climbing wall outside, while inside, younger children proudly say, 'I did it!' as they use scissors to snip around the edge of their pictures. Staff engage positively with children as they play. They extend children's learning and support their language and communication skills. For example, staff help children to create pictures using herbs and spices. Children have fun as they smell the various herbs and spices and listen carefully as staff help them to pronounce new vocabulary such as 'cinnamon' and 'rosemary.'

Children's behaviour is particularly good. They listen to instructions, follow all boundaries, and show respect for staff and each other. At lunchtime, older children help the younger ones to find their lunchboxes and remind each other to wash their hands. Children independently separate their food waste and packaging at snack time as they learn about recycling.

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

• Leaders know what they want children to learn. There is a clear focus on the prime areas of learning and building children's independence ready for school. Staff support children to manage their own self-care, confidently communicate, understand their feelings and emotions, share, and take turns. This gives children a good foundation for their future learning.
• There is a priority on mathematics. Staff plan plenty of opportunities for children to count, recognise numbers, and use mathematical vocabulary such as 'more than' and 'less than.' For example, young children accurately name numbers as they complete a clock puzzle. All children make good progress in this area of the curriculum.
• Staff's engagement and interactions with children are warm and encouraging. They support children to try things for themselves and praise their attempts. For instance, staff say 'I'll show you and then you can have a go' as children try to unscrew lids on spice jars. This helps children to persevere and builds their self-esteem.
• Staff create a positive learning environment and provide exciting activities to motivate children and encourage them to engage and learn. However, when children are busy in their chosen play, staff sometimes interrupt them, for example, to give them reminders for tidy time or to line up to move to another area. This impacts on children's levels of engagement and continuous learning.
• Expectations of children's behaviour are high. Staff consistently reinforce what good behaviour looks like and help children to manage and regulate their emotions. They support children to share and take turns and to respect each other. For example, staff teach children to say 'No I don't like that' when play becomes too animated.
• Children are very independent with their self-care. Staff teach children why it is important to wash their hands to prevent germs going into their bodies, encourage children to sit at a table when they eat, and to take small bites of their food. However, staff do not always support children to learn how to make healthy choices in relation to food and drinks.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and English as an additional language are supported very well. Staff use a range of assessment procedures to monitor children's progress. This means any gaps in children's learning are quickly identified and additional support put in place. Staff consistently use visual aids and props to help children with communication and emotional needs. This helps children understand the routine and supports them to express their wishes, needs and interests.
• Parents are very positive about the care and support they and their children receive. They value the regular updates and photos about what their children are learning. These good relationships between staff and parents helps support children's learning at home as well as in the pre-school.
• Leaders use regular supervisions to offer professional development opportunities for staff. However, they do not effectively monitor how staff tailor activities to further children's learning and development. For instance, at times, staff plan activities that are too advanced, and children do not always show an understanding of what is being taught.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide more opportunities for children to become completely immersed in their play to fully extend their learning
• make the most of all opportunities to teach children about healthy food choices
• ensure activities are pitched at the right level, to ensure children's engagement and to help them understand what is being taught.