Great Witley Pre School Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children excitedly enter the pre-school with enthusiasm, confidently separating from their parents. They are warmly greeted by kind, caring and nurturing staff, who know them very well. Children form incredibly close relationships with staff and their peers. They play exceptionally well together and demonstrate their understanding of the behaviour expectations within the setting.

Children are eager to learn. They persevere with tasks and work together to complete their chosen challenges, such as building a pretend boat using the large boxes and pieces of cardboard. Through skilful questioning, staff encourage children to solve problems for themselves. For example, when children make ramps with the large sheets of cardboard for their cars to go down, they balance these vertically. This results in the cars falling straight off. Staff ask children if there is a better way to prop them up so that the cars do not just fall straight off. Children concentrate and experiment by putting the cardboard in different angles until they find the best position.

All children thrive because staff have very high expectations of what they can achieve. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who speak English as an additional language make excellent progress in relation to their individual starting points. This means that all children are superbly prepared for their next stage of learning, including their eventual move to school.

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

• Managers and staff have developed a curriculum that is exciting, challenging and well sequenced. The quality of teaching is superb. Staff have a very clear understanding of what they want children to learn. Teaching is adapted to meet the individual needs of the children. This leads to children making excellent progress in all areas of learning.
• Staff promote high levels of independence for children. Children learn to take care of their own belongings, placing their bags and coats in their individual tray in the reception area as they arrive. They are encouraged to be independent, taking care of their own personal needs, washing their hands before meals and after using the toilet. Children learn to pour their own drinks and wash up plates and cups after mealtimes.
• Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. Children are highly motivated and show excellent levels of control. Children independently resolve conflicts, learning to share and take turns with toys and resources. For example, when a child wants to play with a toy that another child is already playing with, they understand they need to fetch the sand timer that corresponds to their age. They politely tell the other child that it will be their turn with the toy when the sand runs out.
• Children's love for reading is very well supported. Staff have created a cosy reading area that children frequently use. They spend lengthy periods of time selecting a book and looking through this independently or with their friends. Children enjoy joining in with rhymes and songs, excitedly repeating familiar phrases. Staff engage children in meaningful conversations and discussions to further promote their communication skills. Children are successful communicators, confidently expressing their thoughts and ideas.
• There is an exceptionally calm and extremely happy atmosphere within the setting. Key persons get to know children and their families exceptionally well. Children's emotional well-being is given the utmost priority. Staff work closely with families to support children through new life events, offering parents advice and guidance on how to support their children to understand changes at home.
• There is excellent support for children with SEND. The manager and staff work closely with the local inclusion team and other professionals. Support for children with SEND is exceptional. Gaps in children's learning are identified early and acted upon. Children benefit from high-quality, one-to-one care and support from staff who understand their individual needs exceptionally well.
• Partnerships with parents is exceptional. Staff share daily information with parents about their children's time at the pre-school. This enables parents to extend at home on what they are learning in the setting. Parents express their utmost satisfaction with the pre-school. They say that all staff are wonderful and know their children really well.
• The manager is passionate about ensuring staff are well supported and happy in their roles. She shares weekly training updates with staff to enable them to build on their already excellent teaching skills. Staff express how well supported they feel in their roles.