Headcorn Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children are happy and settle confidently at the inviting pre-school. Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of the curriculum. They provide challenging activities that help to keep children interested to learn. Children are keen to engage in interesting activities. For example, as they talk about treasure maps, they go on to learn about pirates. Staff teach children fine motor skills to support their future learning. For instance, children learn to use scissors with confidence as they cut tape to 'free the captured animals'.

Staff teach children about the importance of healthy lifestyles. For instance, they discuss healthy foods during snack time. Children learn about healthy choices. Staff demonstrate this when children choose to squeeze oranges to drink. Children choose if they wish to rest and engage in quieter activities or exercise and participate in more-active play. Children gain good physical skills. For example, they practise their balancing skills as they negotiate beams and crates. They develop their core strength as they confidently and safely climb on apparatus. The manager and staff support children to have a good understanding of different cultures. For example, children learn about festivals of other countries, such as Chinese New Year.

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

• All staff establish positive relationships with children. This helps children to feel safe in a secure and trusting environment. Children are confident and enjoy the company of staff and each other, such as when they play games of hide and seek together.
• The manager and staff fully understand children's individual needs. This helps them to support all children to make good progress. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff implement what they learn from training and outside agencies, such as speech and language therapists. This includes using visual timelines to help children to understand and manage changes in the pre-school routine.
• Overall, children behave well. Staff support them to gain good social skills, for example by encouraging them to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Staff recognise and praise good behaviour. However, they do not consistently help children to understand the consequences of some of their actions and why they are being asked to stop. For example, when children playfully throw an object, they are simply asked to 'stop' instead of being provided with further explanation. Therefore, children do not consistently understand what is expected of them.
• The manager and staff establish positive partnerships with parents, who speak highly of them. Staff keep them informed about the activities their children enjoy doing at the pre-school. Staff share helpful information with parents, including healthy eating ideas and links to useful training, such as safeguarding.
• The manager and staff use some effective ways to communicate with staff at other settings children also attend. For example, they discuss that they pass on and receive any key information through parents. However, some staff do not have a clear understanding of where their key children also attend and how to communicate directly with staff from these settings more effectively. This does not support staff to provide the highest consistency of care and learning for children who attend another setting.
• The manager monitors the quality of education and care that staff provide. She regularly observes them teaching children and shares helpful feedback. Staff evaluate their practice together daily and discuss how well they have engaged children. They use their findings to support their future practice.
• Staff attend regular and beneficial training. They have recently learned about the different ways to develop children's speech and language skills even further. This has helped staff to understand how to plan activities and experiences that support children to communicate their ideas with confidence. This includes introducing interactive story times, where they use puppets to widen their vocabulary.
• Staff use additional funding well to support children's individual needs. For example, they have purchased outdoor play equipment to build on children's enjoyment of learning outdoors and strengthen their physical skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide guidance to help staff to consistently ensure that children understand why they are being asked to stop certain actions
• support staff to establish more-effective partnerships and information-sharing with staff at other settings that children also attend.