Gipsey Bridge Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children have developed a strong bond with their key person. The feeling of security this creates gives them confidence to build relationships and play happily with other children. When exploring nature, staff show toddlers that torches help them to find mini beasts. Children thoroughly enjoy using these to look for bugs in the classroom. They frequently smile and make eye contact with staff, who are just as enthusiastic about finding minibeasts. Children of all ages sit attentively as they listen to stories. When staff ask children questions about the book, they happily respond and are able to demonstrate their understanding of the story.

Staff give children lots of praise and encouragement, which helps children to foster positive attitudes and develop their self-esteem. Children mirror this in their own play. They hold hands as one child walks along the balancing plank. When the child gets to the other end, their friend says, 'you did it, well done.' Children know staff value their work. For example, staff place a 'work in progress' card by children's models to ensure they do not get tidied away. The curriculum supports children to be ready for their move on to school, such as to develop their social skills. For example, when toddlers hold a pretend tiger they know it is their turn to speak. All children, including those children 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?

• The experienced manager has a clear vision for the pre-school and values an approach that goes above and beyond for the families that attend the setting. The supportive staff team are keen to create a happy, inviting and nurturing environment, where outcomes for children are at the heart of everything they do. One example of this is the thoughtful use of additional funding to pay for trips out. This contributes to narrowing gaps in children's learning and development.
• Children benefit from a curriculum that focuses on language and communication. Pre-school children move around the outdoor space collecting natural materials to fill a bug hotel and to look for spiders. Staff extend children's learning about the natural world by introducing the word 'habitat' and prompting a discussion about the kind of habitats bugs like.
• Overall, children are excited to participate in adult-led group activities. They show good levels of self-control and follow staff instructions. However, the length of time some children spend in focused, adult-led, group activities results in them becoming restless and disengaged.
• Staff plan an activity to help children to learn about the human body. They use different resources to show children how blood travels around their bodies. When an unexpected hole appears in a bag, staff skilfully use this spontaneous opportunity to redirect the activity and encourage children to problem solve. They then work out how to stop the water flowing out of the bag.
• Children's behaviour is good. They understand the setting's routines and expectations for their behaviour. For example, children come together for tidy-up time. Staff ask them to choose a superpower, such as 'unicorn power', before staff assign them an area of the room to tidy. They do this willingly and take pride in having the responsibility.
• Staff encourage children's independence, getting dressed for outdoor play and washing their hands for mealtimes. Children choose whether they want to have snack. Staff encourage them to serve themselves. They use tongs to get their snack and pour their own drinks from a jug, which contributes to their manual handling skills.
• Staff provide children with a homely setting. They make good use of the local community to provide children with opportunities beyond what they may ordinarily experience. For example, staff take children on a service bus to the local town to buy a cake. Furthermore, when children show an interest in, for instance, lemons, staff take them to the supermarket to buy lemons. This helps children to experience public transport and to buy food in shops.
• The manager goes out of her way to support staff mental health and well-being. She recognises when staff may need some extra support and ensures they receive this. The staff team comment they are happy in their work and feel supported.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the organisation of adult-led group activities to maintain the children's engagement and learning.