Hillview Under Five's Pre-School Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide interesting activities, which capture children's imaginations and motivate them to learn. Children draw on their prior knowledge and take on the role of a travel agent. They pretend to book a flight for their friends, who wish to travel away on holiday. Staff facilitate this imaginative play by providing additional resources for children to enhance their play. Children pretend to travel on an aeroplane and act out the role of cabin crew, serving snacks as the aircraft departs. Children are creative and artistic. They show they are confident performing for others.

Staff encourage children to persist as they use paint sticks to make marks. Children take their time to make precise prints and start to form letters using pencils. This supports the development of the skills children need for later learning, such as writing, as they increase fine motor strength and dexterity.

Staff have established strong bonds with children. As a result, children easily leave their parents on arrival. Children happily bound in and hang up their coats on personalised pegs. This helps children to feel like they belong. Staff have high expectations for behaviour and, because of this, children know what is expected. Staff interact with children with kindness and care. This means children feel valued as they know they are listened to and respected. Staff encourage the use of good manners and children's behaviour is excellent.

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

• The manager has introduced a curriculum that, overall, is designed well to prepare children for future learning and school. Any gaps in progress are immediately acted on. For example, when leaders identified the progress in mathematics was not as swift, this became a focus and was woven into everyday practices and routines. Children recognise shapes and count the number of sides. They know that the square shape has more sides than the triangle. Children's mathematical understanding is developing well.
• The impact of the quality of education on children's phonetic awareness is evident. Children learn that letters have sounds and expertly sound out their name during self-registration. Staff share some well-chosen books with children. Staff read to children with energy and enthusiasm. Children choose to look at books independently and know how to handle books with care. This helps children to develop a love of literature, ready for reading in school.
• Overall, staff promote children's communication skills well. They ask open questions, which encourage children to think and respond and two-way communication is encouraged during a social snack time. Children learn sign language and staff speak to them using visual cues and gestures. However, there are less opportunities for children who speak English as an additional language to see, hear or use their home language and develop their speaking skills further.
• Children's health and well-being are prioritised by staff. Children particularly enjoy a yoga activity, where they stretch their bodies and develop physical strength. Staff provide healthy snacks and advise parents about healthy and safe lunch box options. For example, staff ask parents to provide healthy food, such as fresh fruit, but explain to parents that grapes must be cut into small pieces to help to prevent a choking hazard.
• Partnership with parents is strong. Parents are kept updated with children's progress. Parents say their children are happy coming to the pre-school and have developed in confidence. However, some parents are not aware of what their children's next steps in learning are, to help them to continue with learning at home.
• Staff morale is high. They receive support and training and appreciate the ongoing professional development opportunities. For example, the manager completes observations of staff practice and discusses areas of strengths and suggestions for improvement. However, some staff are not aware of what individual children know and can do, in order to plan precise next steps and help all children to make the very best progress possible.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are provided with personalised and targeted support. The caring and dedicated special educational needs coordinator works harmoniously with parents and external professionals. This helps to provide a consistent approach to meeting children's individual needs and supports them to make the progress they are capable of.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus more precisely on individual children's next steps in learning
• help all parents to know what children are learning, so they can continue to build on this learning at home
• include children's home languages in the curriculum to further develop their communication and language skills.