Helpston Playhouse and Under Fives

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive at this excellent pre-school. They arrive confidently and are eager to start the day. Children greet staff with beaming smiles and are self-assured as they separate from parents and carers. They hang up their coats and show increasing levels of independence and determination as they remove their shoes and put on their slippers.

Children behave exceptionally well. They know what is expected of them and from the start learn how to use sand timers to fairly regulate turn-taking. Children show high levels of respect for each other, staff and the environment. They eagerly share resources with other children. For example, they explain what they are creating with play dough and give part of it to their friends, so they can join in. Children are confident talkers who explain their ideas and feelings clearly.

Children take responsibility for helping to keep the environment safe for their friends. They help to rake and collect fallen leaves which they place in the composting bin. Children know that compost will help plants to grow. They plant, nurture and harvest a wide range of fruit, herbs and vegetables with staff. Children learn about sustainability and that resources, such as water, are precious and not to be wasted.

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

• Leadership is extremely strong. Leaders have a clear vision for the pre-school and what they want children to achieve. They have established a clear, broad curriculum that is shared and understood well by staff. The curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure all children build on what they know and can do to achieve their potential. Staff know children extremely well. They instinctively extend learning as they follow children's interests and lead in play.
• Staff are highly reflective practitioners. They are continuously seeking ways to improve the high-quality learning experiences that children enjoy. Staff share learning and information from training at team meetings to help build and develop practice. For example, recent training has helped staff understand how to adapt their practice well to meet the needs of the youngest children that attend.
• Parents are very positive about the pre-school and staff. They state that their children's needs are well met and that staff have provided useful information to help them understand how to support their child's learning. This includes attending workshops to help them prepare their children for the move to school. Parents feel very well informed about their child's day. Staff kept in contact with parents throughout the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. They provided resources and ideas to support children's ongoing learning at home.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children in receipt of additional funding are exceptionally well supported. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to identify where the additional support will help the individual child. Staff review children's progress in learning to ensure the support is effective. Recent funding has been used insightfully and has successfully enhanced children's communication and language development.
• Staff read stories with great expression, sing songs and rhymes and engage children in meaningful conversation throughout the day. Their speech is clear and highly focused to help children build a rich vocabulary. Children confidently identify and discuss key characters and words and phrases from a range of books and songs. They share their creative thoughts. When they turn around quickly, they say that this makes them 'invisible' and that this is their 'super power'.
• Staff expertly weave mathematical language and concepts as children play. Showing good scissor skill, children compare the lengths of straws they snip when creating play dough cakes. Children count and identify the numbers of the stepping logs in the garden, when they investigate the creatures they find under the logs. They remember that they found four worms the previous day. Children explain knowledgeably why they put the worms in the compost bin.
• Children learn how to keep themselves healthy and safe. Staff talk to children about the benefits of healthy food choices and being active. Children know that drinking milk provides them with calcium, which will help them to be strong. They enjoy dancing, running, crouching and climbing. Staff help children to take measured risks, such as when children climb trees or use the climbing frame.