Hundon Hedgehogs Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children excitedly arrive at pre-school and demonstrate they are keen to explore the activities provided. They are warmly welcomed by happy staff who know them and their families well. Children are familiar with the small, warm and homely environment. Displays of their art work, along with opportunities for them to register their attendance on arrival give children a sense of belonging and self-worth.

The educational programme provides many worthwhile experiences to enable all children to make good progress. The staff work well together. They positively encourage parents to contribute what they know about their children to ensure they provide a broad curriculum, that is designed to follow the children's interests, build on what they already know, and also seasonal themes. For example, they learn about spring and life cycles, to extend children's knowledge further. Staff work sensitively with both small or large groups of children. Planning for both indoor and outdoor activities is effectively based on children's capabilities and staff are clear what the children should learn from these experiences. Children are very familiar with the expectations of the pre-school.

The consistent team of staff are good role models for the children. Expectations are modelled by the calm and nurturing staff who offer children lots of praise and reassurance for their efforts. Children demonstrate they are confident. They have made friendships and overall, their behaviour is good.

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

• The quality of teaching is good. Staff demonstrate their understanding of how children learn. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff understand how children develop their communication skills. Opportunities are provided to develop language and vocabulary. This is promoted through effective questioning and exploration of the sounds of words. Children also use repetitive phrases when recalling popular stories. For example, they enthusiastically participate in interactive stories. They stomp and roar like dinosaurs. They listen carefully when the staff's tone of voice changes, and know to whisper so as not to wake the dinosaur.
• The session runs smoothly throughout the morning, and children are busy in their play. However, the organisation at transition times, such as preparation for outdoor play and lunchtime, means staff are sometimes busy with other tasks and children are not engaged in meaningful learning.
• Children relish their time outdoors, enjoying the space and running around in the fresh air. They develop their physical skills as they negotiate the climbing frame and slide. They learn to balance and match colours, as they play games using corresponding stepping stones.
• Children learn to care for living things. For example, children excitedly tell visitors to the setting about the chicks they have hatched. Planned experiences to continue learning about life cycles are promoted through adult-led activities. For example, children learn about caterpillars and butterflies, tadpoles and frogs. They make good attempts to predict what will happen and how they evolve.
• The small team of staff say they feel supported by the management and the committee. They say they are fully supported in their own professional development through training opportunities.
• The indoor environment is appealing and set out ready for children's arrival. There is a wide variety of quality resources that support children's learning. These are mostly stored on open shelving to invite children to self-select. However, access and presentation of some activities means children's play is interrupted. For example, children wanting to use the cosy book area have limited space and access as tuft-tray activities limit the space available.
• Parents speak highly of the warm and friendly pre-school. Some travel a distance as they want their children to attend. Many speak of the friendly and supportive staff and comment their children are happy, settled and make good progress, since attending.
• Children have many opportunities every day to express themselves creatively, using art and craft materials. They use their imagination as they enthusiastically act out role-play scenarios, such as styling their friends hair in the 'hairdressers'. Children show sustained concentration as they attempt to make dinner in the home corner. However, while this is popular, the presentation of some resources and use of space means it is often difficult for children to continue to act out their thoughts, and limits opportunities for them to fully express themselves in a defined space.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the organisation of transition times to ensure that all children are fully engaged and supported at these times
• organise the environment and resources to ensure maximum space makes access easier for children, particularly when they are leading their own play
• provide children with defined and inspiring role-play opportunities, to enable them to explore and develop their own play and ideas.