Fairlands Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their time at this welcoming pre-school. They develop warm and affectionate attachments with staff and demonstrate they feel emotionally safe and secure. New children to the setting settle quickly. Staff create a stimulating environment where children have access to a rich and varied curriculum. This helps to encourage children to be motivated to have a go and learn. Staff use a range of strategies to support children's speech and language development. For instance, 'attention buckets' and 'circle times' are effectively used to encourage children to demonstrate good speaking and listening skills. They share experiences, listen to stories and sing songs. Staff extend children's vocabularies as they are introduced to new words, such as, 'lily pad' and 'frogspawn' during creative activities.

Staff help children to develop good physical skills. Children have plenty of opportunities to play outside. They move around freely and explore a wide range of resources that promote their large and small physical movements. Older children access balance bikes and scooters and develop confidence and excellent balance and coordination. They whizz around negotiating obstacles with skill. Younger children strengthen their arms and legs as they access large and small slides developing coordination, balance and spatial awareness. Children's behaviour is good. Staff have high expectations of children. They act as good role models and verbally praise children for their positive behaviour. Children are aware of the setting's expectations of behaviour and recite them at circle times. They play together cooperatively. For example, they share resources and take turns.

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

• Children's early writing skills are enhanced and strengthened as staff provide them with engaging opportunities. For example, children access a range of one-handed tools such as scissors to cut around their artwork and cut cooked spaghetti during sensory play. Children enjoy water play all year round. They manipulate tongs to pick the numbered ducks from the water tray. Children access a range of writing materials to practise their mark making.
• Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and delays in development are offered effective support. The pre-school has developed strong partnerships with local agencies and professionals. This helps them to ensure that children are identified swiftly and receive the support they need to progress to their full potential.
• Staff organise regular opportunities for children to develop an understanding of the world. They go on visits in the local area and have visitors come into the pre-school. They learn about people who help us as they visit a veterinary practice and have the lollipop person come in to talk about road safety. Children's knowledge of healthy eating is extended as they visit the local supermarket. They learn about a wide range of fruits and vegetables.
• Although members of staff promote counting and number recognition, children's knowledge of wider mathematical concepts are not fully extended. For example, children's knowledge of volume, weight and measure.
• Staff carry out regular observations and assessments of their key children. They make effective use of the information gained to plan meaningful activities to provide appropriate challenges for children. This helps promote good outcomes for all children.
• There are positive partnerships with parents. Staff regularly share information with them to keep them informed of their children's progress. Parents give positive feedback about the provision. They comment, 'We believe the pre-school has provided the perfect foundation for our child to continue their journey in life'.
• All children show good levels of independence in their play and daily routines. For instance, they follow their own interests as the self-select from a broad variety of resources indoors and outdoors. They cut up and prepare tasty dishes during role play, consisting of carrots and cucumbers. Older children open their lunch containers and packaging, whilst younger children have support from staff.
• Staff's ongoing professional development is supported well. Staff undertake regular supervision and training throughout the year to support their practice and career development. New staff state that the feel supported through the probation period and speak positively about their induction into the pre-school.
• The management team is committed to the pre-school's continuous improvement. For example, they monitor the progress of individual groups of children. This information is used effectively to further enhance the curriculum and target improvements. They have recently extended the provision to promote children's communication and language skills, which they identified as an area that could be improved.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend the range of opportunities for children to further explore mathematical concepts.