Indian Queens under 5's

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are very eager to attend. They hurry through the gate when they arrive, often forgetting to say goodbye to their parents in their excitement to start the day at pre-school. This demonstrates their strong feelings of security and their happiness at the setting. Children behave well and form close relationships with the staff and each other. For instance, when pretending it is the manager's birthday, they make celebratory cakes from play dough and sing 'Happy Birthday' to her.

The manager and staff plan a broad curriculum, linked closely with children's interests and the next steps in their learning. Children are engaged and motivated to take part in activities. For example, older children count and recognise numbers during games. Younger children concentrate on their chosen activities, such as when they roll balls down chutes. They excitedly rush to collect the balls when they scatter across the floor at the other end and repeat the process happily. Children develop strength and control using their arms and hands, such as during games when they try to hook fish with fishing rods and scoop and fill containers with sand. They are encouraged by staff to practise activities that support their coordination and dexterity. For example, children peel fruit and remove the lids of yoghurt pots. Children develop a range of skills and make good progress in their learning.

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

• Staff know the children well and assess their progress accurately. They use this information to decide what knowledge and skills the children need to learn next. For example, they encourage younger children to play in pairs and plan small group activities to develop their early social skills. Children who are initially more hesitant toward other children grow in confidence and begin to form friendships as they play together.
• Children enjoy listening to stories and learn to hold a pencil with control to make careful marks when drawing and colouring pictures. However, the manager does not check that the staff's planning of the literacy curriculum provides consistently good support for the older children's early reading and writing skills.
• Staff work closely with parents to keep them informed about their children's achievements. Parents receive regular updates about children's next steps in learning and are welcomed to share their observations of children's experiences at home. This helps to provide consistency in children's care and learning. Parents speak highly about the pre-school, praising staff's relationships with children and their support for children's emotional well-being.
• Staff use a range of strategies effectively to develop children's communication and language skills. They give children time to respond to questions and model a broad vocabulary. Overall, children are confident to initiate discussions with their friends and the staff. At times, some quieter children play contently by themselves for too long and do not receive as much attention or interaction from staff as the more confident children.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive particularly good support. Staff work closely with children's parents and outside agencies to implement targeted and consistent strategies.
• Children are independent. They put on their coat to play outside, pour their own drinks and use cutlery at snack and mealtimes. However, staff do not organise snack as effectively as they could, so children spend too long waiting for food and some end up eating alone at tables.
• The key-person system is effective. Staff form strong bonds with the children. Children are affectionate, kind and caring toward staff and are keen to help them. For instance, when staff playfully pretend that their arm is stuck in a jacket, children rush to their aid as they call out 'I'll save you.'
• The manager provides good support and coaching for staff to develop their knowledge and skills. For example, some staff have taken training about the use of signing to help children with less speech to understand and to communicate with others. Children learn and use some signs, such as to say please and thank you.
• Staff use effective strategies to teach children the expectations for their behaviour. Staff communicate with children respectfully, remind them to use good manners and speak gently with children to calm them when they start to become overexcited. Children listen to staff, follow their instructions and understand the daily routines. For example, children know to wash their hands before lunch and remember not to run inside, when staff prompt them to 'use their walking feet'.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to interact more frequently and consistently with quieter children to develop their speaking skills as effectively as possible
• develop the organisation of snack times to make better use of the occasion to engage children in discussion to provide a more social experience
• strengthen the planning of the literacy curriculum to develop the older children's early reading and writing skills more effectively.