Glenfall Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle with ease in this calm, nurturing environment that staff create for them. On arrival, staff warmly greet children and give parents time to share any important information. This helps staff to meet children's needs effectively for their day at the pre-school. Children confidently explore the playroom and seek favoured activities to engage with. Parents leave knowing their children are happy and well supported.

The manager and staff have worked hard to create and implement an ambitious curriculum that they base around the needs of all the children. Staff identify what they want the children to learn and weave this into their daily activities alongside children's interests. For example, staff create an activity based around dinosaurs and melting ice. While harbouring the children's interests, staff teach children about how ice is made, how it melts and how they can make it melt faster. Children also develop their small-muscle skills ready for early writing when they use pipettes to collect and squirt water.

Children behave well. They are respectful of others and create meaningful relationships. Children in the home corner create a narrative of 'mums and dads'. They whisper in each other's ears and giggle with excitement together. Children cooperate, listen to one another and respect each other's ideas. Children are confident to seek staff for support if they need it. Staff listen to children and value their interactions.

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

• The manager is supportive and approachable, and she speaks highly of her team. Staff say that they feel very well supported. They attend regular staff meetings to allow them the opportunity to discuss their key children and identify any learning needs. Staff all recently attended the local early years conference to network with other professionals and learn from workshops delivered. Staff use this knowledge to enhance their curriculum and teaching style to best meet the needs of the children and provide them with the best possible learning experiences while at the pre-school.
• Staff provide good support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The knowledgeable special educational needs coordinator works closely with parents and external agencies to ensure that children get the support they need. She works with staff and other professionals to put strategies in place to help children make progress and have a positive experience at the pre-school.
• Staff know the children well. They are aware of the children who need further challenge and use their knowledge of these children to create meaningful learning experiences for them. For example, staff tailor a group mathematics activity and their questioning to meet all children's different learning needs. Staff ask children to drop handfuls of pom-poms on a tray, count the items and identify more or less when they rearrange the items. Staff challenge most-able children's thinking even further by asking them to recognise and label groups of pom-poms without having to count them. Children relish the challenge and beam at the positive praise from staff.
• There are good partnerships with parents. Parents say that their children are happy to attend the pre-school and have made good progress in their learning. Parents of children who have recently joined the pre-school speak highly of the settling-in process and how this is adapted to meet children's needs. Staff offer termly parent discussions for key persons to discuss children's learning and progress.
• Children learn to be independent and engage with purpose. On arrival, children hang up their belongings and self-register. However, during group times and routine transitions, staff do not always make children clear of the expectations. When children get ready for forest school, some children wander and play with other items instead of locating their wellington boots and puddle suits. Therefore, children do not fully benefit from the learning on offer as they become distracted and play with other items. Staff do not always use effective strategies to redirect children so that they engage purposefully with learning or help them to successfully get themselves ready for the next activity.
• Staff use every opportunity to engage children in meaningful interactions and develop their communication skills. While children explore the water tray, staff provide a narrative for their play. They introduce new vocabulary, such as 'transparent', and they discuss the dinosaur eggs 'hatching'. During lunchtimes, staff spark conversations about home experiences. Children talk about Mother's Day and the gifts they gave their mums. This leads to a discussion about foods that are treats and foods that are healthy. Children confidently share their views.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support children's understanding of expectations more effectively during group times and routine transitions, to help them engage with purpose and remain calm and focused.