Haywood Road Pre-School Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter the pre-school independently as they happily leave their parents at the door. Staff are warm and welcoming, which helps children settle quickly into their chosen play. Children are familiar with what is expected of them and the routines of the day. For example, when children enter the room, they know where to put their water bottles and who to give their lunch boxes to for safe storage. Children behave well. They play cooperatively with one another and confidently take the lead when initiating their own games. Outside, children particularly enjoy playing hide and seek games and welcome staff to join in. The whole game becomes an expedition as children explore various hiding places to find their friends.

Children take an active role in deciding what they would like to play with on the day they attend and for the following day. Staff use this information to plan activities and experiences for children. They help extend children's learning through their positive interaction with them. This ensures children receive an ambitious curriculum to support their learning. Children particularly enjoy outside play. They excitedly explore the sensory garden. Children learn to use objects such as watering cans safely as they water the plants. Other children have fun experimenting with sound and rhythm. They confidently express themselves as they use wooden spoons to bang pots and pans loudly.

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

• Partnership with parents is strong. Parents comment how well their children are developing. They notice that their children are increasing their range of vocabulary and learning new skills. Parents value the way that information is shared and exchanged between themselves and the staff team.
• Children are happy, engaged and make independent choices in their play. They show good levels of focus and concentration, in particular when using pencils on paper. For example, once children have finished their picture, they take their time to form the letters of their name before offering their picture to the staff.
• Staff know their key children well and what they want them to learn. However, occasionally, staff do not follow through planned mathematical activities well enough to ensure that the learning intention is fulfilled. For example, during a table-top matching game, staff do not extend and broaden children's understanding and knowledge of numbers further.
• Children have a positive attitude to their learning and eagerly participate in activities presented to them. However, sometimes the most confident and articulate children dominate some activities. Staff do not always quickly recognise when to include the less confident children in the group activity. This means that, sometimes, these children do not receive the same positive interaction from staff to support their learning as the more confident children do.
• Children enjoy the company of their friends as much as they do with the staff. There are close relationships between all of them. Staff raise children's self-esteem and well-being effectively. They praise children on their achievements, for example by saying, 'Well done,' and using a 'high-five' action. Children quickly and positively respond as they smile, laugh and giggle.
• Key persons share relevant information with their colleagues about their key children's next steps in their learning. Staff work well together to support all children's continued learning. Any additional funding is used appropriately to support children and to broaden their experiences from home. For example, a balance bicycle has been purchased to help children develop their physical skills.
• Children are offered plenty of time outside in the fresh air to support their health and well-being. They access a variety of toys and resources to continue to support their learning and interests. Children take their own calculated risks as they climb on apparatus, or they sit on the grass, exploring and talking about the daisies with staff.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to implement the learning intentions of planned activities consistently, to enable children to gain the best outcome from these experiences and learn as much as they can
• help all staff to recognise when to involve children who are quieter and less confident so that they receive the same levels of positive interaction as their more confident friends.