Gayton Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff place children and their families at the heart of everything they do. They provide a warm welcome and get to know each child well when they start to attend. Staff use the wealth of information that they gather about each child to help to ensure that children's unique needs are met. Children arrive to a wide variety of activities based upon their interests. This helps children, including those who have recently begun to attend, to settle quickly. Children are supported to share and take turns as they play this helps them to develop their friendships. Children behave well because they receive clear guidance to manage their feelings. They demonstrate that they feel safe and secure in the care of the nurturing staff team.

Staff plan a unique and well-sequenced curriculum. They understand how young children learn and develop. Staff carefully assess what children know and can do in order to build upon their learning over time. All children make good progress from their individual starting points. Staff place high-priority on supporting children to develop their confidence and independence. For example, children are encouraged to select their own fruit and pour their own drinks during a sociable 'café' snack time. Staff offer a wealth of reassurance and praise for children's achievements. Children find this incredibly motivating. This approach contributes effectively to children's positive self-esteem.

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

• Staff observe children as they play. They use their assessments well to identify what individual children need to learn next. Staff quickly recognise if gaps emerge in children's development. They swiftly implement targeted plans and where appropriate, seek the support of outside agencies, to ensure that children's needs are consistently met. The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is effective.
• Children enjoy regular opportunities to share books and stories. Staff enhance children's experiences using familiar stories. For example, staff read 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' story. Children are encouraged to talk about the story and relate to their own experiences of watching caterpillars turn into butterflies. Staff introduce new and interesting words such as 'cocoon' and 'pupae'. Opportunities such as these, help to develop children's language skills and a love of literacy.
• Staff interact well with children. Overall, they encourage children to be curious and to investigate their ideas. staff ask questions that encourage children to think and solve problems. That said, at times, staff allow more confident children to take the lead during activities. This means that, occasionally, those less confident or quieter children do not fully benefit from the learning opportunities provided.
• Staff recognise opportunities to enhance children's mathematical understanding as they play. For example, children use blocks to build towers. Staff encourage them to compare the different sizes of towers. Children describe which tower is the tallest and which is the shortest as they count the number of blocks they have used. This successfully helps children to build on their mathematical knowledge and skills.
• The incredibly close staff team feel well supported. Staff are offered a wide range of supervision and professional development opportunities. They regularly complete further training. This is carefully targeted to support staff in enhancing children's experiences. Furthermore, staff value the thought and care given to their ongoing well-being. This helps to create a harmonious working atmosphere. Staff feel valued in their roles.
• Partnerships with parents are effective. Staff discuss children's progress with their parents regularly and inform them of their child's next steps in learning and development. Parents value all the fun and exciting activities staff and leaders organise. They feel involved in their children's learning and appreciate the suggestions staff make about how they can best support their child's learning at home. This helps to ensure a consistent approach to children's learning.
• The manager and staff have developed strong links with the host school. Teachers visit the pre-school to help plan for children's eventual transition to school. Additionally, staff and children from pre-school attend a range of events in school such as, annual sports days. Staff share information with school about children's learning and development. This close partnership helps to provide continuity for children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to enhance their teaching skills further so that they consistently support less confident children to benefit fully from the learning opportunities provided.