Exminster Pre-school

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter the pre-school, happy and excited to be there. They readily leave their parents at the door and friendly staff greet them warmly. Children feel safe and secure. They are confident in this warm and caring environment. Staff genuinely enjoy their time with children and they have high expectations of them. Young children develop their small-muscle skills as they use large tweezers to pick up and transfer pom-poms to different places. They thoroughly enjoy playing with musical shakers as they sing nursery rhymes with staff. Older children attempt to form letters from their name on their drawings. They learn to recognise the initial sounds in words and count with enthusiasm. Children of all ages concentrate on their chosen tasks and show great motivation and perseverance.

Children behave well. They know the daily routines and the expectations of the pre-school. Children are kind and considerate to others. They learn to share resources with others during activities and are confident to talk about their ideas with their friends in a group. Staff give children plenty of praise for their efforts, which gives them a sense of achievement and builds their self-esteem. This supports children's emotional well-being effectively.

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

• The passionate and committed manager has designed an ambitious curriculum. She uses additional funding well to support children's learning. Staff carefully follow children's interests. They use information from observations and assessments to plan exciting activities. However, occasionally, staff do not build further on the older children's existing skills and extend their learning to help them make even more progress.
• Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, staff provide children with even greater support for physical development. Children enjoy imaginative games as they play with a parachute, stretching and lifting it up high as they pretend to 'switch the washing machine on'. Underneath, children giggle with delight as they pretend they are 'clothes in the wash'. Additionally, children learn to move their bodies in different ways as they enjoy weekly sessions from a yoga teacher.
• Staff provide many opportunities for children to be independent. For example, children put on their coats and shoes for outdoor play. Older children pour their own drinks and put butter on their fruit toast at snack. This helps children develop important skills that they need to move on to school.
• The manager understands the importance of staff professional development. She holds regular one-to-one meetings with staff, where she discusses their teaching practice and well-being. Staff attend relevant training that improves their teaching, such as extending their knowledge of supporting children's understanding of language through signs and gestures. Staff say they feel valued and supported by the manager.
• Staff form strong partnerships with parents. They share regular updates about children's progress. Staff provide resources so that parents can support their child's learning at home. For example, staff offer cooking packs, including all the necessary ingredients. Parents are very complimentary about the care and education their children receive.
• The manager has developed very strong links with the local school. For example, she invites teachers to meet the children at the setting. Staff take children to visit the school regularly. This helps children to become familiar with their new teachers and settle in well when it is time for them to start school.
• Overall, staff support children's communication and language skills well. Staff use good intonation when reading stories to children, who snuggle up to staff and listen carefully. They introduce new words and encourage children to talk about the pictures in books. Toddlers join in with songs and older children express themselves to others articulately. However, staff do not provide all children who speak English as an additional language with enough opportunities to hear or use their home language to support their communication skills further.
• Staff successfully help children to learn about good hygiene routines, such as washing their hands. They speak to children about what foods are healthy. Staff provide opportunities for children to learn about the importance of good dental hygiene. Children discuss why it is important to go to the dentist and look after their teeth.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide more opportunities for the older children to extend their learning even further
• support staff to help all children who speak English as an additional language to communicate and listen in both languages to further develop children's speech.