Great Expectations Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show that they are happy and contented at this very caring and nurturing nursery. Staff welcome children warmly when they arrive and sensitively support those who are upset when their parents leave. The time taken by staff to help children settle when they arrive promotes children's feelings of being safe and secure. Staff support children's emotional well-being and let children know that they are valued and appreciated.

Children across all ages show high levels of confidence and a can-do attitude to their learning. For example, babies delight in practising their new-found climbing skills. Their faces show absolute pride in their achievements as they manoeuvre themselves up and down small steps. Older children work together to build an obstacle course, deciding where to place the individual pieces. They learn to put their arms out for balance as they negotiate the different surfaces and levels. Children happily accept the very genuine praise given by staff for their efforts.

Children's behaviour is very good. Toddlers and slightly older children show high levels of respect for other children. They freely let children into their play and readily share resources. Babies sit together, inquisitively exploring resources they pass to each other.

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

• Staff gather detailed information about children's development before they start. They use this information to plan for children's learning from the moment they begin. Staff monitor children's progress and design activities based on what children already know and can do. This supports children's future development effectively. For example, staff use young children's interest in messy play to encourage them to make marks in shaving foam.
• Staff work closely with parents from the beginning to find out about children's home lives. They use this information to plan a curriculum which extends all children's experiences, knowledge and understanding. For example, staff help children to learn about the diversity of their local area. They engage with parents to help children learn about many festivals celebrated by different cultures.
• The management team and staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities exceptionally well. For instance, they use additional funding to enable children to have one-to-one time with individual staff. Staff work closely with other professionals and follow the plans that are put in place for children.
• Staff are determined that all children will achieve to the best of their abilities. They are resourceful in their support for children and parents who speak English as an additional language. For example, staff engage with interpreters and use electronic translators to enable them to communicate with children and families.
• Staff foster children's love of books. They are skilled storytellers, reading with enthusiasm to engage all children. Staff know to give children time to think and remember what happens next, drawing on children's existing knowledge to develop their imaginations.
• Parents speak positively about the care their children receive. They praise the support given by the staff throughout the time the nursery was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents valued the online communication and ideas for supporting their children's development in the home and external environment.
• Staff know how to talk with children. They get down to children's level when speaking to them, look at them, talk slowly, clearly and use the correct pronunciation. However, staff do not consistently extend children's vocabulary when they play or during routines. For example, they do not regularly introduce new vocabulary or different words that have the same meanings to children.
• The management team and staff have a clear vision for future developments to the nursery. For example, they have recently made effective changes to how they design the play environment. Children now have more space and are able to access resources more effectively.
• Staff plan a wide range of enjoyable activities that children are keen to take part in. However, at times, staff's attention is overly focused on what it is they want children to learn. As such, staff do not always acknowledge children's ideas and when children want to introduce extra resources to extend their play.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to develop consistency in supporting children's communication, such as introducing new words into their vocabulary
• make better use of the opportunities that arise during planned activities to support and extend children's learning even further.