Horley Community Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy, and they settle with ease. They flow through the well-established routines, which supports them to understand what is going to happen next and what is expected of them. For instance, children self-register when they arrive and put their belongings away. Additionally, they know to line up and wait when staff tell them it is time to move between the garden and inside area. This helps to prepare children for when they start school.

Staff have high expectations for all children to succeed, and they build on children's interests to extend their learning. For example, children pretend to make coffee for their friends. Children and staff laugh with delight as they act out the experience of making coffee. Staff use this opportunity to help children to think about how to look after their teeth when they talk about the sugar in the coffee. This supports children to develop an awareness of how to look after their bodies.

Children behave well, and staff provide them with effective support to manage their behaviour. This includes reminding children of the rules at appropriate times, such as telling them not to run when they are inside. Staff explain that children might hurt themselves, helping them to develop an understanding of risks. Children respond positively by listening to staff and modifying their behaviour.

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

• Leaders plan an ambitious curriculum based on their knowledge of child development and their understanding of the individual needs of the children attending. They share the curriculum with staff through regular meetings. Staff spend time getting to know their key children very well. They have good knowledge of where children are in their development and what they want them to learn next. This enables staff to plan well for children's continued learning.
• Leaders and staff organise the learning environment well and provide children with an extensive range of adult-led activities and opportunities for independent play. As such, children are, overall, highly focused, which supports them to show a good attitude to learning. For instance, they become absorbed in activities such as planting artificial flowers and pouring water through the tubes on the water wall. Staff ensure that these activities are resourced well so children can freely explore. During adult-led activities, staff show patience and kindness as they support children to complete the tasks by themselves. This helps children to develop their concentration skills.
• Overall, leaders support staff to develop their practice, such as offering them relevant training and giving them feedback on the activities they have delivered. However, at times, leaders do not notice when individual staff would benefit from a little more focused mentoring and support to enhance their skills further.
• For example, there are occasions when staff plan activities that are too challenging, and children do not benefit from the intended learning.
• Children benefit from opportunities to develop their communication and language skills. For instance, staff give children time to share their thoughts and ideas, and they support children to continue conversations. Children also enjoy listening to books that staff read to them. Staff encourage children to join in by asking questions about the story. This helps children to practise their speaking skills.
• Staff support children to develop their mathematical knowledge. For instance, they interweave mathematical language during conversations. This helps children to hear words in context to develop an understanding of what they mean. Staff also support children to count the number of objects they have collected and match them to the relevant numeral. This supports children to build on their understanding of mathematics.
• Leaders and staff provide strong support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They work closely with parents and other agencies and ensure that all relevant information is shared so that children receive consistent support. As such, children with SEND make good progress in their development.
• Parent partnerships are strong, and communication is highly effective. Parents are very happy with the pre-school. They appreciate the various events that they can get involved in, such as taking the children to the post office to post the letters they have written. This helps parents to be involved in children's experiences at pre-school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen oversight and monitoring to identify how to provide individual staff with the targeted support they need to address less secure areas of their practice.