Holy Trinity Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are excited to attend this nurturing pre-school. They arrive with a smile and immediately begin exploring the resources and activities with curiosity. The pre-school team offer children a warm welcome and join them at their chosen activities. This helps them to feel settled and safe. Children receive effective transitions to pre-school. They get to know the staff and other children that attend and become immersed in the new routines. Children develop positive attachments with their key person and all the pre-school team. They know that they can go to anyone for comfort or reassurance. Children take part in imaginative journeys with their friends. They use available resources to create props for their play. For instance, children go on a boat ride and use wooden planks as their oars as staff sing songs with them.

Children develop confidence in their physical abilities. They demonstrate excellent control of tools when writing their name. Outside, children explore the rope swing. They confidently pull the rope to the low-level platform, where they carefully negotiate how to hold on, before swinging away. They smile with glee as they swing freely. Staff closely monitor children as they explore the environment and teach them how to keep themselves safe. Children take part in regular outings in the community. For instance, they enjoy exploring outdoor learning spaces. They practise working together to investigate and solve problems. In addition to this, children learn about other people living in their community. They visit local residential homes, where they share songs and build their confidence in new social situations.

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

• The pre-school team have developed a well-organised curriculum that is tailored to meet children's individual needs and abilities. Opportunities for children to develop in the prime areas of learning are strong. Children demonstrate this through their kindness and compassion for others. They play together harmoniously and learn how to share and wait for their turn. The ambitious curriculum nurtures children's interest in the world around them and provides first-hand learning opportunities. For instance, children plant seeds and nurture plants and vegetables as they grow. They work collaboratively to pick strawberries and collect water in their watering cans before carefully pouring it on their produce.
• Staff and managers have developed effective strategies to assess children's development. They work closely with parents to identify children's early interests and skills and devise plans to support them moving forward. Weekly staff meetings provide staff with opportunities to share their observations of children and to plan exciting activities for them moving forward. Staff differentiate activities for children, based on their individual learning needs, and offer varying degrees of support. This encourages children to make steady progress.
• Children attending this pre-school are confident communicators. All levels of communication are celebrated, and children demonstrate pride in their achievements. Staff adapt strategies to help all children to communicate, such as using objects, visual props or Makaton signs. For instance, when learning about life cycles, staff use objects that children have made and teach them the sign for 'butterfly'. Staff reinforce the development of children's vocabulary through the repetition of weekly stories. These are shared with parents and children use their new vocabulary in their play.
• Children's care needs are prioritised within this nurturing setting. Staff and managers understand the individual needs of children and attend to them with care. They work with parents to identify when children are ready to use the toilet. Children have positive toilet training experiences. They tell staff when they recognise that they need to use the toilet and are supported as they practise. Children feel pride in their achievements and staff share their success.
• The committed team have established effective partnerships with parents. They foster close relationships with parents and regularly update them on their child's progress. Parents praise the staff on the high level of communication that they offer. They appreciate the opportunities to attend meetings to discuss their child's progress and find out about their next steps in learning. This enables parents to continue to support their child's learning at home.
• Staff work closely with parents to meet children's needs, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They act swiftly if they have concerns about a child's development and work with parents and other agencies to identify their specific learning needs. Leaders and managers use additional funding appropriately to offer children extended adult support. This helps children to make good levels of progress from their starting points.
• Leaders and managers are passionate about delivering a unique setting that has a positive impact on children and families alike. There are robust systems in place to check and monitor the suitability of staff and committee members. All staff speak positively about the support that they receive for their well-being. They take part in mandatory and some extended training opportunities. However, leaders and managers do not yet implement sharply focused training and mentoring opportunities that consistently build on staff knowledge and skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance professional development opportunities further to identify precise training needs and build on staff knowledge and skills.