Feltwell Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle quickly and enjoy their time in this welcoming pre-school. They are greeted warmly by staff, who chat with them about their morning. Staff remain on hand to support new children as they settle in during their first few weeks. This helps them to feel safe and secure. Children quickly become familiar with the routine and confidently engage in activities. For example, children eagerly sit for group time where they talk about the items they bring for 'show and tell'. They beam with pride as they receive praise from staff for describing and demonstrating their chosen item. Children's behaviour is good. They are kind and polite. Staff are good role models and use gentle reminders, such as 'kind hands' and 'listening ears', to reinforce their behaviour expectations. Children participate in discussions about behaviour and feelings. This helps them develop their emotional vocabulary.

Staff are ambitious for all children's well-being and achievements. They focus on promoting children's confidence by providing encouragement and praise. Children develop their autonomy as they explore the environment, both inside and outside. They make choices for themselves and show good levels of engagement as they explore activities staff provide. For instance, children explore colour by combining different paints. They confidently explain how to make orange and purple. Staff extend this learning by introducing different shades. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to provide targeted support when this is needed. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress.

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

• Staff plan activities to support children's interests and learning. The routine and structure of the day enables children to spend a significant amount of time outdoors. However, staff do not always give the same consideration to planning learning opportunities in the outdoor environment as they have in the indoor environment. This means children with a preference for outdoor learning are not always accessing as much of an extensive curriculum as they do indoors.
• Staff support children to develop their communication and language skills. They speak clearly, modelling words and speech, and commenting on what children are doing. Staff introduce words, such as 'sticky', 'scoop' and 'smooth', as children play to develop their vocabulary. Staff recognise the value of singing songs and rhymes and reading stories to help children to acquire and use new words.
• Staff encourage children's early independence during daily routines. For example, children set the table for snack and select their own food, including pouring their own drinks. Staff encourage children to dress themselves for outdoor play and manage their own personal care. Children move freely around the pre-school and select resources to play with. This shows that children are confident and comfortable in the pre-school environment.
• Staff broaden children's experiences of the world around them. For instance, children enjoy trips into the community, including to the local primary school, church and the village shop where they buy items for snack. Staff arrange visits for children to meet people from different professions, such as the police and the dentist. This helps children to learn about the wider world as well as the community in which they live.
• Leaders and the staff team work well together. This creates a warm and comforting environment for children to learn in. Staff have regular supervision meetings. They access mandatory training and additional professional development opportunities. However, leaders do not always provide individual staff with the precise feedback needed to help them implement the curriculum intentions as consistently as possible. Occasionally, some staff do not deliver activities in a way that builds on children's existing knowledge.
• Parents praise the staff for the care and learning experiences they provide. They state that their children thoroughly enjoy their time at the preschool and grow in confidence. Parents describe the communication and support they receive as 'excellent'. Staff regularly share information about children's development and provide information to help parents support and extend children's learning at home. Leaders create events, such as 'craft days' and 'story week', to share learning with parents in the pre-school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve opportunities for children who prefer to learn outdoors to have regular access to a wide range of experiences that cover all areas of learning
• build on the systems for monitoring the quality of staff interactions with children so that they receive more precise feedback that helps them strengthen their practice further and take children's learning even higher.