First Steps Fountain Of Life Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children's emotional well-being is at the forefront of this inclusive and nurturing pre-school. Parents and children benefit from bespoke settling-in processes and can enjoy stay-and-play sessions before children start. This ensures children settle in smoothly, alongside swiftly building trusting and secure relationships with the staff team. Staff provide opportunities to help children find out about a broad range of people and communities outside of their own experience. For instance, staff arrange a visit from a fire engine, where children learn about people who help us. In addition, parents are actively involved in the pre-school, and their children benefit as they contribute their own experiences and professions during sessions with the children.

The management team and staff embed a successful curriculum that provides children with the chance to develop their social skills, build relationships and become independent. Staff use themed topics and books to bring the curriculum to life with imaginative and fun teaching. For example, children learn the importance of teamwork as they decorate an enormous blue whale together, a character from their story of the week. Staff provide meaningful praise as children independently share popular resources, such as paint and brushes. This helps reinforce their understanding of positive and respectful behaviours expected of them.

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

• A robust key-person system and regular assessments ensures that all children make significant progress from their starting points. Staff observe children as they play and any gaps in learning are swiftly identified. Knowledgeable staff know what to do to support their continuing progress. For example, they work closely with outside professionals, such as speech and language therapists, to bridge these gaps in children's learning. Therefore, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve their best outcomes.
• Teaching is very good quality throughout the pre-school. Parents talk incredibly highly of the overall progress their children make. Staff plan activities particularly well indoors, to build on children's curiosity and allow them to experience the natural world. For example, children have the exciting opportunity to observe the life cycle of a frog. Children carefully evaluate daily changes and excitedly point out that the tadpoles are starting to grow their back legs. Staff introduce words, such as 'metamorphosis', that children use meaningfully as they describe the changes they are witnessing.
• Staff display consistently high expectations for supporting children's independence in developing their personal needs. When children are attempting to put on their painting aprons, staff give children space and time and offer words of encouragement. Additionally, staff are on hand to support children if they need it. As a result, children show perseverance and determination when completing this self-care task themselves. This highlights children's motivation to become increasing independent in preparation for school.
• Children's behaviour and attitudes to learning are very good. Children play cooperatively together and show empathy and care towards others, modelled extremely well by staff. For example, during a group music and movement activity children apologise to their peer as they bump into them. Children are gracious and show understanding by responding saying, 'That's okay', before moving to create space for their peer to sit alongside them on a cosy chair.
• Children love to plant seeds and watch fruit, and vegetables grow outdoors. Outdoors, children grow in confidence as they test their physical strength on the trapeze swing. They learn to risk access for themselves by checking the environment is safe and clear before swinging, to avoid hurting themselves or others.
• Joyous laughter can be heard as children play outdoors. However, staff do not fully evaluate outdoor learning experiences, to ensure they consistently offer children the best possibilities to extend and achieve their next steps in learning.
• Staff are well supported by the management team and show high levels of contentment in their work. The management team regularly provides staff with supervision sessions and appraisals to reflect on their practice and well-being. Staff appreciate training that complements and raises the quality of teaching they provide to children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider ways to promote children's learning even further in the garden area, to help those who prefer to learn outdoors.