Heckington Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children independently explore their learning environment. They are supported by skilled staff to develop their curiosity and understanding of the world around them. For instance, children use everyday objects that staff provide, such as kitchen utensils, to play with sand and water. They enthusiastically add water to dry sand and use their growing imaginations as they pretend to bake the mixture. Staff regularly share books with children. This helps children build a vocabulary of new words. Children explore a range of factual and fiction texts. They read recipes when baking and enjoy sharing their favourite stories. Staff and children sing songs and rhymes throughout the day, which further enhances children's communication and language development.

Children enjoy the choice of activities available to them in the outdoor area. Staff provide children with support to develop their large muscles and their physical skills. They help children to balance safely and move across stepping stones. Children grow their own pumpkins, tomatoes, courgettes and strawberries at the 'Pre-school Patch'. They tend to the plants as they grow them from seeds, and have the chance to to enjoy the results of their efforts when the fruit is ready to eat. Children show kindness to one another by ensuring they all have their sun hats on before going outside. They explain how sunglasses protect their eyes from the sun's rays. Children take part in discussions to help them understand about personal health and how fresh air is important.

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

• Staff understand the intent of the curriculum they provide and offer real-life opportunities to help children learn. For example, they take children on visits to the local library to select and order books. This supports children's growing love of reading.
• Staff carry out assessments of children's communication and language development. They use this information to decide what children need to learn next in order to become confident communicators. Staff share the outcomes of these assessments with parents and suggest ideas that they can do at home to help their children make good progress.
• Staff know what they want children to learn. The use children's interests and prior learning to provide activities that are relevant for children's stages of development. However, sometimes staff do not plan activities in the best way to maximise this learning. For example, staff plan a baking activity to promote children's use of descriptive language. However, they do not provide enough resources for all children to engage at the same time. This means that while some children can describe what they are doing, such as mixing and stirring, other children sit and watch.
• Staff promote children's oral health by showing children how to clean their teeth and explain why this is important. They provide parents with information to continue this good practice at home.
• Staff strive to involve children in the local community. For example, they visit community groups and venues where children can meet different members of the community. This helps to promote children's personal development and sense of belonging.
• Staff provide children with opportunities to learn about different cultures and their traditions, such as the Irish culture and their celebration of St Patrick's Day. Staff plan activities for children to mark events such as Chinese New Year and Diwali.
• Staff support children's emotional well-being by planning relaxation activities, such as yoga sessions. They say this form of exercise promotes children's concentration as well as providing children with techniques to feel calm. Children respond quickly when another child looks sad or cross. They inform a member of staff, who then discusses with the children how the situation can be resolved.
• Parents say that their children are happy and safe. They describe how staff nurture their children with love. However, occasionally, staff do not know enough about children's lives outside of the pre-school. This means children's care experiences are not always consistent between what happens at home and what happens at pre-school.
• Parents talk positively about the opportunities offered to their children to experience new tastes and textures, especially from the food that children have grown themselves. They say this has a positive impact on the range of foods their children will try at home.
• Staff are reflective. They identify areas for change and future training. Staff respond positively to feedback. They help one another to improve their practice and to manage their well-being and workload.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff with the planning of activities so that their intent for children's learning is implemented effectively
• strengthen the methods of communication between staff and parents so that children receive consistent care between home and pre-school.