HCA Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children feel happy and secure in this bright and welcoming pre-school. Staff greet children warmly as they arrive. They build trusting relationships that help children feel safe and valued. The key-person approach ensures that staff know each child well. They respond to children's individual needs and preferences. This consistent support helps children settle quickly and foster secure attachments. This gives children confidence to explore and try new activities.

Staff encourage children's independence throughout the day. Children pour their own drinks, serve snacks and wash their hands. They tidy away with little prompting, developing practical life skills and self-confidence. Children's behaviour is supported positively. Staff reinforce 'golden rules', such as 'good listening' and 'kind hands'. Staff use gentle reminders and modelling. As a result, children behave well and show respect for others. Staff support children to manage frustrations and to cooperate well with peers. Social skills flourish through collaborative play. Children take part in group games that promote sharing and turn-taking. Staff engage in conversation to encourage problem-solving. For instance, they support children to manage friendships by promoting listening and cooperation. This helps children to think about how their actions affect others.

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

• Children enjoy group time, where they practise counting. They count how many children are present. Staff ask how many children there will be if one more joins. Children respond confidently with the correct answer. This demonstrates their developing numeracy and problem-solving skills.
• Children enjoy singing familiar songs, enthusiastically joining in with the actions. While singing about 'aeroplanes', staff talk to children about flying to different countries. They describe flying over mountains and the sea. These discussions encourage imagination and language development.
• Staff know children well. They use ongoing observation and assessment to identify the progress children make. However, planning for children's next steps is not consistently implemented. Staff do not plan the curriculum effectively to sharply focus on what individual children need to learn next to further their development.
• Snack time is well organised. Children wash their hands independently at the sink. Staff give instructions, encouraging children to manage tasks themselves. Children use tongs to serve themselves fruit and vegetable sticks with increasing independence. Staff name the foods and offer choices, supporting language development and an early understanding of healthy eating.
• In the outdoor toy kitchen, children explore with enthusiasm. They transport and mix sand and soil. Children use a range of tools to transfer and stir their mixtures. This helps to develop coordination and large-muscle skills. Children show deep engagement as they pour and fill containers. They share their ideas with staff. For instance, they say they are making 'sand soup', promoting their creativity.
• Children use their imagination well as they play in the 'ice-cream shop'. They make marks in small notepads as they take pretend orders. Staff engage in their play, talking about ice-cream flavours and supporting children's ideas. Staff provide fresh herbs to support play ideas. Children describe how mint smells like toothpaste. Staff encourage children to explore ideas for ice-cream flavours, such as mint choc chip.
• Children develop strong physical skills. They stack large blocks in the garden, building 'towers for dinosaurs', which they excitedly knock down. Children use climbing equipment confidently. They navigate steps and ride wheeled toys energetically. They are developing an awareness of risk and physical challenge.
• Children are curious about the natural world. They notice weather features, such as when the wind blows and how it moves their toys. Children find and handle insects, such as woodlice and ladybirds, showing curiosity about living things. Staff explore this further with children as they discuss the features of the insects and where they might live.
• Overall, strong partnerships with parents support children's learning and well-being. Staff provide regular updates with parents about children's progress. However, staff do not share children's next steps in learning with parents to further support their development.
• Staff benefit from regular supervision, helping them reflect on their practice and develop their skills. Targeted training addresses areas for improvement, ensuring continuous improvements in teaching that supports children's ongoing learning and development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• plan the curriculum more effectively to help build on what children already know and can do
• share next steps in learning with parents to enable them to continue children's learning and development at home.