Ford Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and settled at this friendly and welcoming pre-school. There is a strong focus on their well-being. For example, children learn about healthy eating as they grow their own fruit and vegetables in the large, enclosed garden. Children plant, water and harvest potatoes before helping to cook them in various ways. They help bake crumbles and press juice from fruit from the pre-school's apple trees. Children make a list of ingredients they need and visit the shops with staff to buy them. There is a strong focus on taking turns and playing cooperatively together. Expectations of children are high and their behaviour is good. Strong bonds with staff help children feel emotionally secure. They are praised by staff for their achievements. This helps develop their confidence and self-esteem.

Children are encouraged to make their own choices. For example, they choose between different fruits at snack time and decide which toys they would like to play with next. Children benefit from daily fresh air and exercise. Support for their physical development is strong. Children strengthen their muscles to prepare them for later tasks, such as early writing. They balance and stretch on monkey bars and use a climbing wall. Children paint and make marks with large chalks. This helps develop their smaller movements and coordination.

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

• Staff have lovely relationships with the children in their care. They are caring, calm and kind. Staff know the children individually very well. They have a good overall knowledge of child development and the milestones they want children to reach. There is good support for children to become increasingly independent. For example, they are encouraged to put their own bags away and wash their hands when pre-school starts.
• Children learn from a rich set of experiences across all areas of learning. Overall, support for children's developing communication and language skills is good. For example, children learn words and phrases as they listen to stories and take part in singing and rhymes. However, staff have not fully considered how group times can be used more effectively to support younger children's speaking and listening skills.
• Support for children's mathematical development is strong. Children learn about colour and number through play and general opportunities throughout the day. For example, they identify the colours of paint and count shells and bottle tops as they sort them into different containers. Children learn mathematical concepts, such as pairs, as they search for socks hidden in the woods by staff as part of a treasure hunt. They compare the lengths of lines they have drawn with coloured chalks. Children are motivated, enthusiastic and willing to have a go.
• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is good.
• The pre-school works well in partnership with parents and partner professionals. Parents speak highly of the setting and the care their children receive. The pre-school has formed very strong relationships with the local school. Children are invited to take part in school lunchtimes and walks in the school grounds before they start at school. This helps provide a smooth move for all children to the next stage in their learning.
• Children learn about nurture and the importance of looking after the natural world around them. They are encouraged to study nature and seasons over time. There is a strong focus on children learning through their senses. For example, they smell bluebells in the pre-school woodland and observe how sunflowers grow. Staff encourage children's imaginative play. For example, they speak to children on pretend telephones and sit patiently while the children bandage them in the pretend doctor's surgery.
• The manager is dedicated and wants the best for the children and families in her care. The manager and staff team are well qualified and experienced. The manager is a strong leader and supportive of her staff team. Staff are good role models. They are respectful and work well together as a team. The manager and her staff evaluate the experiences for parents and children. They regularly update their knowledge and are dedicated to the continuous improvement of the setting.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• plan more effectively at group times to better support younger children's speaking and listening skills.