Hagbourne Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show they are happy and feel safe within the pre-school. They are warmly greeted by friendly staff who know them well. Children confidently leave their parents and carers at the door and settle well to activities that they enjoy. All children have fun as they sing and dance to the welcome song. Staff value children's individual needs well and encourage group times where all children can sit and listen to stories. Children who are not able to sit and concentrate for this length of time are well included. For example, staff use additional copies of the book and read these as the children move away. This supports children's sense of belonging.

Staff provide an exciting curriculum for the children with a good range of exciting learning opportunities that meet the children's interests and developing needs. Planning is carefully sequenced by the staff to embed the topic throughout activities. For example, as the children learn about the story 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar', they get to broaden their taste buds as the healthy foods that the caterpillar eats are included at snack time. Children are developing an understanding of what behaviour is expected of them through discussions with staff and the use of sand timers. Overall, children are well supported by staff who interact with them and provide a running commentary as they play.

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

• The management team and committee work well to support the staff and ensure that their well-being is supported. For example, staff benefit from regular staff meetings, training and supervisions. Suitable checks are completed on staff to ensure that they are safe and suitable to work with children. However, some committee members have not provided Ofsted with the required information to check their suitability. These committee members do not have unsupervised access with children at the pre-school, and therefore, this means there is no impact on children's welfare.
• The management team and staff have a clear intent of what they want children to learn. They understand how activities can be adapted to incorporate the areas of learning and do this successfully to help all children make the progress they are capable of. This includes children in receipt of additional funding.
• Children's self-esteem is well supported by staff as they offer a good amount of praise and encouragement to them. Children are developing some good friendships and are seen to behave appropriately. Children demonstrate that they know the routines very well. For example, when staff ring the bell, they know what this means and stop and listen before responding to the instruction.
• Children learn to be independent from an early age. They learn where to put their personal belongings as they arrive at the pre-school and are taught how to put on their coats for outside play. Children are developing good physical skills as they play and investigate the activities outdoors. They clearly enjoy their time in the garden as they negotiate space on bicycles and explore on the ropes to the slide. Children are learning to take safe risks as they climb and jump from the climbing wall.
• Children demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. They are happy and show they are motivated and engaged. Staff ask relevant questions to encourage children's thinking. However, at times, staff do not give children enough time to think or express their thoughts and ideas before they are asked further questions.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents comment that the staff are supportive and provide a good range of activities for the children. Parents benefit from the regular updates they receive on their children's learning through one-to-one meetings, daily activity notes and newsletters. This keeps parents well informed on their children's development and how to support them with their learning at home.
• Staff are vigilant in ensuring they always maintain the adult-to-child ratios for qualified staff. For example, staff check before they leave the room to ensure that sufficient adults are in place. This contributes to keeping children safe.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider must:

• ensure the required procedures are followed and Ofsted is provided with the necessary information to carry out suitability checks on all members of the registered body. (by 15 March 2024)

The provider should:

• support staff to understand the importance of giving children the time they need to think about and answer questions, to enable them to speculate, test their ideas and challenge their thinking.