Footprints Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and excited for their day in the setting. They are greeted by friendly staff and separate from their parents and guardians with ease. Children confidently explore the environment and the activities set out for them. Staff know the children well and plan around their interests. This means that children show consistently high levels of engagement in activities and benefit from a curriculum that provides them with enriching experiences. Children work well independently and in small groups.

Staff have high expectations for children's learning and behaviour and are good role models. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure and understand what is expected of them. They show positive attitudes to their learning. They listen, follow instructions and their behaviour is good. They respond well to praise and are proud to show their achievements.

Children benefit from regular time outdoors where they build on physical skills, such as balancing and coordination. They excitedly ride bicycles with their friends and use chalk to draw large pictures on the floor. Younger children happily join in with the actions to songs and rhymes. Older children learn about healthy lifestyles and the benefits of healthy eating and regular exercise.

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

• The manager has created a meaningful curriculum. Staff follow children's interests when choosing topics and planning activities. They provide a good balance of free-play and adult-led activities. These are planned to meet the needs of children of different abilities. Staff have regular supervisions and complete training to help support them within their job roles.
• Staff observe children and plan the next steps in their learning well. They communicate well with each other to support children's on-going care and learning needs. Staff work closely with other professionals to support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. This helps to ensure that all children make good progress.
• Parents praise the staff for the warm and welcoming environment they create for the children. They report that their children are excited to attend. A weekly learning newsletter helps parents know what their children have been doing during the week and to support home learning. However, at times, staff use systems for sharing information that are difficult for some parents to access, such as through their websites. This means, on occasion, information is not easily available to all parents.
• Older children benefit from daily routines that support their self-care and independence. For example, children independently wash their hands for lunch, they pour their own drinks and feed themselves. However, at times, routines for the youngest of children are not as well planned. For example, on occasion, babies have to wait a long time for their milk due to it arriving too hot, and are interrupted abruptly for snack while happily enjoying singing.
• Staff support children's mathematical development well. Older children show pride as they use bricks to measure the length of different sea creatures. They confidently use language such as bigger, smaller, less and more. Younger children excitedly count the legs on a toy spider and add the correct number of legs to a chalk spider that staff draw on the garden floor.
• Children learn about leading a healthy lifestyle. Staff plan opportunities to teach them about healthy eating and children are physically active throughout the day. Younger children excitedly join in with action rhymes and songs. Older children develop new skills in the garden, such as balancing, using a range of different equipment.
• Staff support children's speech and language well. They use different methods to support children's individual needs with communication. For example, children learn Makaton signs to help them communicate. Children use good communication and language skills throughout their play and learning. They call their friends and talk about games they would like to play. They discuss the different options and agree the role each of them will have.
• Children show a love of books throughout the preschool. Younger children choose books to look at independently. They show delight when looking at the pictures and pointing to their favourite animals. Older children excitedly join in with storytelling. Staff stop at each page to give the children time to talk about what is happening and what could happen next. They encourage children to make up their own stories and use their imagination.
• Children learn about the world around them. Staff teach the children about recycling and the importance of keeping the oceans clean. During a story about sea life, children recall an activity they completed to separate different recyclable materials. They talk about the harm these can cause if they end up in the seas and oceans. Children recently enjoyed hatching chicks. They learned about the life cycle and how to care for them.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the organisation of daily routines to support the youngest children, ensuring consistency in their care routines and learning
• review and improve arrangements for making sure all parents can easily access any relevant information about the pre-school.