Growing Beans Streatham Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at this vibrant pre-school happy and ready to play. They proudly hang up their belongings on their pegs and show confidence climbing stairs to join their friends in the dining room. The pre-school environment is calm and welcoming. Children show a sense of belonging and independence as they self-register and self-serve breakfast. Children are content during the day. Nurturing staff provide a stimulating and interesting curriculum that provides children with the skills and knowledge they need for their future learning. Children excitedly remember restaurants from their recent walk and discuss what they can smell in the environment during outdoor play.

Children are extremely well behaved. Staff consistently model manners and use language to praise and encourage children. This supports their growing self-esteem. Children choose from a range of engaging activities, indoors and outdoors. Their creativity is supported as they make 'Gruffalo' models from play dough and create cakes and potions in the mud kitchen.

Children have plenty of opportunities to develop a love of books. They are able to recall favourite stories during language-rich conversations with staff. Children who speak English as an additional language make good progress and are celebrated. For example, all children complete headcounts alongside staff in languages that reflect the children and staff at the nursery.

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

• Staff establish excellent relationships with children. This enables them to plan a curriculum that supports children's individual needs and adapt activities appropriately. For example, during a planned sensory forest activity, staff swiftly identify children's level of engagement and redirect their play. Staff have excellent understanding of how to prepare children for the next stage, such as school. They plan activities to help master self-care, confidence and communication skills.
• Children benefit from a curriculum that is culturally rich, and they develop their skills and knowledge every day. For instance, staff take children on visits to the local mosque, church and shops. Children develop essential skills for use in later life, such as expected behaviours, manners and how to greet people. During library visits, children make independent choices. They engage in conversations about road safety, alongside the use of local transport, such as trains and buses.
• Mathematics and language development are weaved throughout the curriculum. Staff encourage a deeper knowledge of numbers. For example, children notice numbers in the environment and use early language around quantity. Children develop strong communication skills and use new vocabulary during play. For example, they name dinosaurs while using brushes to uncover them in the dirt and use language around cooking during imaginative play.
• Leaders have high expectations for the pre-school and a clear vision for any areas of development. Staff speak highly of well-being support they receive from the manager. Supervision sessions are an opportunity for staff to express openly and discuss training for any development areas. For example, staff have received some training to enhance their teaching. However, leaders do not consistently evaluate this training to see how it impacts on practice and how children's learning is improved.
• Children are physically active every day during outdoor play and regular walks. They show perseverance using their fine motor skills during sensory activities. They freely choose mark-making activities always on offer, which aims to support their early writing skills. They discuss healthy foods during mealtimes and the benefits of staying healthy. Children tidy up after themselves and engage in healthy practices, such as handwashing.
• Leaders ensure staff attend regular staff meetings and updates about practice. However, they do not always ensure that staff act on key messages delivered during these sessions to maintain very high standards. For example, they do not ensure that consistent practices are implemented in the outdoor area.
• Parents have regular opportunities to discuss children's progress. They say they receive 'thorough' progress reports and ideas to enhance learning at home. They comment on how much their children enjoy attending and the good relationships they have built with staff. Parents describe the progress children are making with spoken English and other languages as well as how their 'learning has sky rocketed'.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• evaluate the impact of staff training so it is clear how this improves teaching and learning opportunities for children
• monitor staff more effectively to ensure key messages about practice are consistently implemented to raise standards further.