Hundred Acre Pre-School Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and relaxed at the setting. Staff greet children warmly with smiles. They settle in well to play with resources and activities that interest them. Children have fun during activities and are keen to learn. They take great pleasure as they fully engage in an activity with arctic animals. They make attempts to free polar bears and fish that are trapped in the ice. They readily share resources with each other. For example, children strengthen the muscles in their hands while using pipettes to add warm water to melt the ice. They giggle together with staff and their peers as the water splashes out. Children talk about how the ice melts in their hands. They learn and begin to use new words, such as 'freezing' and 'melting'.

Children behave well. They routinely use good manners. Children respond well to the guidance from staff to take turns to use resources with their peers. Children show positive attitudes and enjoy learning. They gain the skills and understanding they need to prepare them for their next stages in learning and the eventual move on to school.

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

• The manager is passionate and has designed a comprehensive curriculum which provides children with the sequence of learning they need to build on their skills and understanding. Staff know the children well and have clear intentions for what they want children to learn. They use information from their observations to plan stimulating experiences that interest and engage children. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make consistently good progress from their starting points.
• Staff ensure that activities and experiences are inclusive, to enable all children to fully engage. They effectively liaise with parents and outside professionals to ensure that children with SEND receive the support they need.
• Staff generally model communication and language well. During interactions they skilfully use open-ended questioning to extend children's thinking and learning. Children engage in lots of interesting conversations with staff. However, at times, staff do not always provide children with enough time to think before responding to their questions.
• Children have abundant opportunities to make choices and lead their own learning. For example, children join in with 'wake up and shake up' activities in a music and movement session, or continue their uninterrupted play in other areas of the room.
• Children develop their mathematical knowledge during play. For example, they practise counting while filling containers with cups of sand. Staff describe the sizes of sandcastles as 'big' and 'small'. Later, children begin to use these words independently in their play.
• Children learn about living a healthy lifestyle. For example, they are provided with healthy snacks and give information to parents about healthy lunch box ideas. Children learn to grow their own fruit and taste these when they are ready. This contributes to children's understanding of how to make healthy choices.
• Children learn about keeping good hygiene routines. They wash their hands independently. However, children do not routinely have opportunities to develop their independence and complete tasks for themselves that they are capable of, such as dressing in outdoor clothes and preparation for lunchtime.
• Children enjoy being active. They are keen to express themselves through singing, rhythm time and games. For example, they eagerly follow the actions and sing familiar songs alongside enthusiastic staff.
• Staff help children to learn about the similarities and differences our communities in a range of ways. For example, through sampling home-cooked foods from different cultures and learning about how families can be different from their own.
• Parents value the information they receive about their child's progress and enjoy hearing about their experiences. They say that staff are kind and friendly and their children are happy attending.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide children with enough time to think and form their responses before they answer questions
• build further on children's independence during everyday tasks, such as self-dressing and preparation for lunchtime.