Harthill Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children and parents are enthusiastically welcomed by the manager and staff when they first arrive. Children are happy and engaged. They show that they feel safe and secure. Children form close bonds with staff, who supervise them well and are attentive to their needs. All staff provide children with a good foundation in their learning. Mixed ages of children enjoy their time together as they learn and play. Staff provide a calm environment and have clear expectations for children's behaviour. Children benefit from this consistent approach. For example, they follow instructions to sit for circle time and seek out staff when they need help or reassurance. Staff act as good role models for children. They are kind and approachable. Children build good levels of self-esteem and behave well. Staff give them lots of praise for their efforts and achievements.

Children enjoy using their experiences and imaginations to create stories in their play. For example, they pretend to be doctors and bandage each other's arms. Staff encourage children to talk about special people who help them, as this is a recent interest which has been further extended by children. Children use play dough to create familiar faces and animals. Staff encourage them to independently access books to read which are familiar to them. Children delight in joining in with story time. Younger children fill and empty containers in the sandpit and develop their hand muscles, such as when scooping the sand into piles.

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

• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve good outcomes. They build close relationships with their key person. Staff are nurturing and responsive to children's needs. For example, they accurately recognise children's verbal and non-verbal cues. Staff encourage speech and signing to support children's communication. They work closely with the local authority to support children with SEND.
• Staff support children's health well. Children learn how to keep themselves healthy and the importance of adopting a good diet. They develop healthy lifestyles. For instance, children enjoy healthy snacks and drinks, access fresh air daily and take part in rigorous physical activity. They learn about good dental hygiene and brush their teeth enthusiastically after meals. The nursery has been awarded a 'Healthy Foundations' award through the local authority.
• Staff are qualified, experienced and know all children well. They carry out regular observations and assessments to identify what children can do and their next steps for learning. Staff use the information from these to plan learning experiences that promote children's development.
• Overall, staff have a good understanding of how to develop children's learning effectively through the implementation of the pre-school's curriculum. For example, staff provide lots of opportunities for children to recognise different numbers, in readiness for their move on to school.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents and grandparents speak positively about the service the pre-school provides and the positive impact this has on their children and themselves. They comment on the kind and caring staff team and the wide range of activities that are offered to their children.
• The manager recognises the importance of self-evaluation. She uses feedback to identify areas for improvement and works closely with the local authority to enhance the pre-school further. Staff take part in a variety of training to support their development. However, managers do not consistently use supervision sessions to monitor staff's practice and ensure that it continually improves and is of the highest standard.
• The manager and staff provide children with extensive support to help them to develop their early language skills. Staff implement an intensive intervention programme to help children to make good progress. However, the curriculum and staff's planning are not as well developed for children who are already achieving well with their speaking skills, to help them to build even further on what they already know and can do.
• Staff are good role models and demonstrate respect towards each other. Children learn from this and show respect and understanding for each other. Children are confident to speak to visitors and new parents visiting the pre-school. They talk about similarities and differences and people in their local community.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to enhance their teaching skills to the highest level
• extend the curriculum for children who are already progressing well in their communication and language to challenge them even further.