Holmedale Pre-school Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children do well at this exceptional, caring pre-school, where they are excited and motivated to learn. They form strong attachments with staff, who take time to build trusting relationships with children and their families. Staff are highly passionate about each child's learning experience. They know each child's interests and what they need to learn next to make progress. Children quickly become absorbed in their play, showing that they feel safe and secure. They develop a strong sense of self, as staff teach them about what makes them unique.

Children behave very well. Staff show respect and listen to what children say. Children learn the expected behavioural boundaries and rules from staff, who provide gentle reminders and explanations. For example, children take it in turns to jingle a bell, when it is time to tidy up. A culture of respect is promoted through the way that children and staff speak to one another. Children also show respect for each other, encouraging their friends to join in and take turns. Staff consistently support and praise children, who are learning to share and take turns. This helps to build their self-esteem and confidence well.

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

• Parents are very complimentary about the pre-school. They praise the level of communication they receive about their children's learning and development. For example, parents say that they appreciate the ideas that staff share, to help support their children's learning at home. Parents praise staff for their commitment to making sure that every child feels valued and respected.
• The manager and staff have a good understanding of each child, their families and their needs. Children learn about what makes them unique. They learn about different cultures and ways of life. This helps to support children to understand the world around them. However, children who speak English as an additional language do not always have opportunities to hear and use their home language in play.
• There is a strong team spirit at the pre-school. The manager and staff are ambitious and have a clear vision for the future of the pre-school. The manager provides individual supervision sessions for staff to discuss their work and the children in their care. However, the manager has not yet identified training for staff, to help raise their practice to an even higher level.
• Children develop excellent independence and self-help skills. For example, children complete tasks independently at mealtimes, and manage their own self-care routines well. Children make independent choices about their learning from the wide range of activities and resources. This means that children are well prepared to meet their own needs, when they move on to school.
• Staff place a strong emphasis on developing children's speech and language skills. For example, the setting has 'words of the week' that link to their themes. The words 'direction' and 'sparkly' are introduced to the children through planned activities. This helps children strengthen their knowledge and understanding of new vocabulary.
• Staff support children's understanding of mathematical concepts well. They introduce counting and mathematical language through activities. For example, younger children learn the names of shapes, as they explore the salt with sticks. When counting out toppings for their pizzas, older children learn that numbers change if they add one more item to a group.
• Children enjoy exploring the outdoor area. They develop an interest in nature and have a good range of interesting resources, inspiring their play and imagination. Staff link the outdoor role play area to topics and children's experiences. For example, following a child's recent visit to hospital, staff have developed a hospital-themed role play area. This means that children's imagination and creativity are positively enhanced.
• Pre-school staff have well-established routines in place to support children's understanding of healthy eating. Children are provided with healthy snacks and nutritious meals each day. Mealtimes are social occasions, where staff and children sit together and hold conversations. For example, staff use photo cards to prompt discussions about healthy foods.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide opportunities for children who speak English as an additional language to use their home language at pre-school
• enhance the professional development programme for staff, to improve the quality of teaching to the highest level.