Immanuel Preschool Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are confident and clearly enjoy their time at the pre-school. Staff ensure that routines are established and followed. This helps children to understand what is happening now and what will happen next. Children learn to be independent, and staff provide activities to help children learn these skills. For example, on arrival, children find their name on a coloured stone and complete self-registration. At snack time, children can pour their own drinks. Children show high levels of engagement in both the indoor and outdoor environment. They are encouraged to articulate their feelings and thoughts. Staff model good language with an emphasis on using manners, such as saying please and thank you.

Staff provide an indoor learning environment that is rich with opportunities to develop creativity and physical skills. Children take part in arts and crafts and messy play activities, such as mixing paint to explore colours. There are opportunities for children to practise their large-muscle skills as they navigate an assault course or balance on beams. Outdoors, children benefit from a wide variety of experiences. They enjoy filling and pouring containers of water from the water butt and playing in the mud kitchen. This year, staff have supported children to grow their own fruit and vegetables. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. Children are encouraged to take turns and share resources with one another. Consequently, children behave well.

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

• The provider has failed to notify Ofsted of changes in management and the telephone number for the provision, which is a breach in requirements. That said, there have been other methods of communication, such as email, so there has been no impact on the children.
• Leaders and staff plan and provide a curriculum that centres around the interests of the children and what they enjoy doing. Leaders are reviewing and changing the curriculum to fully meet each child's next steps in learning. Currently, it is activity focused rather than sequenced to build on children's next steps in learning.
• Staff know their key children very well. They plan and provide activities in line with children's interests. For example, children show an interest in colours, so staff provide an activity outdoors for children to experiment with paint and see what happens when they mix different colours. However, the intent behind activities does not always fully meet all the children's needs and differing abilities. Consequently, opportunities to further extend and challenge children are sometimes missed.
• The quality of teaching is good. Leaders work within the room with staff and monitor their practice, and can provide feedback where necessary . Staff and leaders work well together as a team. Staff have opportunities to attend training, which ensures that they can enhance their professional development and improves the outcomes for children.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well and are fully integrated into the pre-school. Staff work closely in partnership with parents and outside agencies to ensure their needs are well met. Visual supports, such as picture cards, are used effectively to encourage all children to join in the activities on offer. All children are engaged, motivated and enjoy their learning.
• There is a strong focus on communication and language. Interactions between staff and children are a particular strength. Staff use a wide range of open-ended questions, listen carefully to children and promote language development at every opportunity. This means children make good progress with their communication skills.
• Children follow good hygiene practices. Children wash their hands after going to the toilet and playing outdoors. Staff are part of a local initiative that promotes healthy eating in children. They provide support for parents on making healthy choices for lunch boxes.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Their views and opinions are regularly sought, and staff share information about children's learning. There is a programme of meetings during the year, and parents are invited into the setting to discuss their child's progress. Parents report that they feel very positive about the setting and value the strong relationships with staff.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to enhance and embed the new curriculum so it meets the needs of all the children and their next steps for learning
• support staff to plan more precisely the learning intent behind activities so they enhance the challenging experiences for children.