Impstone Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy at this welcoming pre-school. They leave their parents with ease and are greeted by enthusiastic and compassionate staff. Children are excited and eager to start their day. Staff are committed to ensuring that children settle quickly and develop a real sense of belonging. Children readily engage in activities and keenly talk to staff. For instance, as part of their restaurant role play, they write down staff's food orders and talk passionately about their own favourite foods. Children show good social skills, particularly with new people, such as inviting the inspector to join in their play. They are respectful and follow routines well with the expert guidance of staff. It is evident that children establish trusted bonds with staff.

Children delight in their time outdoors. Staff support them well to manage their self-care skills independently, such as putting on their wellington boots before going into the garden. Children run, climb and balance on the large equipment, showing good body control. Older children confidently try out their own ideas when they come across a problem. For example, they dig mud with a large spoon in a small area but find a smaller spoon is more effective. Staff work hard to help children gain the knowledge and skills they need for their eventual move to school.

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

• The experienced manager and staff design an ambitious and sequenced curriculum. For example, they positively promote children's love for books. Staff use story props to bring a story to life and share the messages that arise from the storyline. This helps children who speak English as an additional language, and those with speech delay understand and make connections between real objects and pictures in the book. In addition, staff use books effectively that celebrate cultural differences and help children learn more about the diverse world they live in.
• The manager and the staff proudly talk about providing children with real-life experiences that teach them about their local community. For instance, they organise weekly visits to meet the elderly at a nearby care home. Children speak confidently to the residents and play games with them. In this way, children build connections and help promote the well-being of the residents and themselves.
• Staff promote the importance of adopting healthy lifestyles. For example, they encourage children to engage in daily exercise sessions before lunchtime. In this way, children strengthen different parts of their body and increase their stamina. Staff provide children with an opportunity to cool down at the end and teach them to stretch out their muscles. Children participate in weekly cookery activities and talk about healthy food choices. They learn that milk comes from cows and is good for their teeth. Staff also help children remember the sequence for washing their hands by singing a song. This means that children develop an understanding of why good health routines are important.
• Children show high levels of curiosity and a love for learning new things. They enjoy the freedom to independently explore and investigate, such as when staff encourage them to find different ways to jump safely from large equipment in the garden. However, staff do not always give all children an opportunity to be able to recall, practise and extend their own learning in independent play.
• Staff speak highly of the manager and feel supported through her supervision and daily communication. They feel valued and part of a cohesive team. The manager observes staff practice and offers constructive feedback on ways to improve their teaching. She encourages continuous professional development. However, the manager does not always focus precisely enough on improving individual staff's existing skills and practice. For instance, some staff do not identify opportunities when they can extend children's knowledge during their play.
• Parents are full of praise for the manager and the staff team. They are appreciative of the staff's dedication to create a loving environment where children feel safe, valued and excited to attend. Parents report that they are fully informed of their children's development and next steps in learning through an online application and daily verbal feedback. They say their children are progressing well and show high levels of confidence when speaking to others.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to more consistently recognise when to allow children time to practise new skills in independent play
• focus professional development more precisely to further strengthen staff's teaching skills.