Habitat PreSchool Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the pre-school very happy and leave their parents and carers with ease. They demonstrate that they feel safe and secure as they quickly start to explore the environment and resources. Children have developed positive and warm relationships with caring staff, who build on their existing knowledge and help them to make good progress. The children's happiness and their confidence to learn are at the heart of the curriculum.

Children thrive and show high levels of curiosity. They become absorbed in their imaginative play, such as using vehicles to act out their knowledge about filling up a car with petrol at a garage. Children spend long periods at self-chosen activities. They are confident to share their ideas with staff, who encourage the children's interests. For example, when the children pretend to be fairies, staff support them to make paper wings and wands.

Children benefit from a language-rich environment. Staff provide opportunities for children to develop their love of reading as they re-enact their favourite stories. Children follow the story by repeating familiar phrases and using words playfully. Staff capture children's interest in stories as they read with intonation in their voice for the book's characters.

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

• Staff create a sequenced curriculum that incorporates children's evolving interests. Staff demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of each child and talk about their next steps in learning. An effective key-person system is in place. Children have secure emotional attachments with all staff, not just their key person. This helps them to feel settled and secure.
• Children make good progress within the pre-school. Staff skilfully adapt activities to ensure that all children learn in a way that best supports their needs. For example, staff encourage children to choose their favourite song to sing and take part during group time. The whole team works hard to ensure that all children have a positive experience in their early education. This helps children to be confident when they move on to the next stage of their learning.
• Children behave well and understand daily routines and expectations. Staff support children to learn to share and take turns. However, staff do not always teach children methods for managing conflict so that they can resolve issues independently.
• Staff teach mathematical language, such as during group singing times. They practise counting as they sing '10 fat sausages' and use their fingers to represent the sausages that go 'pop' in the pan. However, the staff do not always use opportunities that arise naturally through play and routines to further develop children's understanding of counting or other mathematical concepts, such as capacity, length and shape.
• Children enjoy playing outside in the fresh air. They have access to a range of equipment and activities that help them to move their bodies and build their muscles. The staff involve themselves in children's play. For example, they enthusiastically demonstrate how to play the hopscotch game. Children show delight as they play hopscotch and practise hopping, skipping and jumping.
• Staff work well as a team and are supportive of each other. The manager uses effective strategies, such as regular appraisal meetings, to promote the positive well-being of staff. Leaders build very strong working relationships with all members of staff. This means that staff enjoy coming to work and are enthusiastic about helping children to thrive.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents are given regular information to support their knowledge and understanding of where their children are in their learning. Staff work well with parents to prepare children for new experiences. Parents' written statements speak positively about the pre-school. They say, 'we value the support and advice that was offered to us', 'happy with my child's progress', and 'the key worker is very friendly and explains every step they follow on their learning journey'.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to provide more opportunities for children to develop their understanding of mathematical concepts
• increase staff's understanding of how to support children in learning how to resolve conflict independently.