Heald Green Methodist Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children love attending this nurturing and supportive pre-school. They benefit from building secure and caring relationships with staff. For example, as children enter the pre-school, they part from their parents with ease and are greeted with a warm welcome from staff. They settle quickly and are excited to play with their friends.

The leaders' vision is for children to be 'happy, independent, respectful and confident learners'. Throughout the pre-school, children have positive attitudes to their learning and play well together. For instance, children smile and work alongside each other as they squish the jelly through their fingers. They describe the texture with words such as 'slimy'. Children make their own choices about what activity to engage in and take pride in the work they create. For example, children burst with pride as they use the camera to take a picture of their work and showcase it to others.

Children benefit from lots of opportunities to develop their physical skills. Throughout the day, they enjoy activities such as running and jumping. They also discuss the importance of exercise, which helps to promote their awareness of healthy lifestyles. Staff have used knowledge from recent training to further develop children's strength and coordination. As a result, the curriculum provides greater opportunities for children to gain strong physical skills.

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

• Leaders are passionate about their vision: to give children the best start in their learning. Their self-evaluation is reflective and accurate. In addition, leaders and staff consistently strive to improve outcomes for children.
• Leaders and staff have a clear intention regarding what they want children to learn, which builds on what they know and can do. However, there are gaps in the current curriculum for mathematics. As a result, children are not making the progress they are capable of making in counting and problem solving. For example, children who are confident at counting are not challenged further. This does not maximise their learning and problem solving.
• Children foster a love of reading. Staff carefully select age-appropriate books and read to children with an exciting tone and animation. Younger children burst with excitement as they tell their own tales. Older children smile as they join in and repeat phrases from a familiar story. Staff further extend children's learning by explaining the difference between an author and an illustrator.
• Communication and language are effectively promoted. Staff model language well and engage children in meaningful conversations to extend their thinking. For example, as children discover a hole in a tray, staff encourage them to think about who might have made the hole and why. As a result, children think hard and discuss the possibility of a dinosaur making the hole.
• Parent partnerships are strong. Parents are overjoyed with the progress their children make throughout their time at the pre-school. They comment on how they love the 'warm, welcoming and safe atmosphere' and how effective the communication is with the staff team. Parents receive daily updates on their children, which keeps them informed on the progress they make.
• Staff support children in a nurturing and caring manner when transitioning into the pre-school and throughout the daily activities. However, the transition between play time and mealtimes is not managed effectively. For example, children are sat waiting for long periods of time. This causes disruption to their routine, and some children become disengaged.
• Children are taught about similarities and differences and benefit from lots of opportunities to venture into the community. For example, staff take children on trips to the local café, library and shops, to help them understand the community they live in. This helps children to develop respect and a positive attitude towards others.
• Children benefit from lots of opportunities to develop their independence. They independently wash their hands. They also put on their own coats as they get ready for outdoor play. Staff further encourage children's independence by giving them lots of praise and encouragement. This boosts children's confidence and helps them to have a can-do attitude.
• Staff prioritise healthy eating. They have shared their healthy eating policy with parents and work together to ensure children are provided with a nutritious packed lunch. Furthermore, children have the opportunity to brush their teeth after mealtimes. They also have visits from the dental nurse. These experiences help children to understand the importance of good oral health.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the curriculum for mathematics, to fully promote children's counting and develop problem-solving skills
• improve the organisation of transitions from play time to mealtimes, to better support children's engagement.