Ivybridge Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children at the pre-school are happy in the care of the staff and join in the play quickly as they arrive. Children respond to the warm relationships formed with their key person and enjoy the company of their friends as well as older school children who attend for breakfast club. Children happily construct together, share books and chat as they make cards for their families.

Staff help children who are new to the setting to learn about the routines. Children start to become independent as they separate from their parents, hang up coats and find where to store their water bottles. Older children learn to play games together in a group, taking turns and sharing. They begin to learn to recognise the sound at the beginning of their name, and staff introduce words such as 'drizzle' and 'shower' as they decide what the weather is.

Parents value the 'home from home' ethos of the setting and the regular communication from staff about their children's progress. They value the relationships they have with the staff, who provide a secure, consistent team for parents to rely on and trust.

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

• Managers place a good focus on ensuring that staff develop children's communication skills. Staff interact with children as they play, listening carefully to them and extending language with new vocabulary. Children enjoy listening to familiar stories and are curious about the natural world as they learn about 'caterpillars and chrysalis'. They sing enthusiastically with staff, bouncing up and down as they sing a tractor song while enjoying the rhyming words and following the actions.
• Staff assess children's stage of development as they join the pre-school and quickly identify where children need to make progress. While some staff are trained in strategies to support children who may have a language delay, children are not receiving consistent support from all staff. Managers do not always support and coach staff sufficiently so that they can further develop their skills. For example, some staff make effective use of signing, but this is not yet used consistently by all staff in order to support children's communication skills.
• Staff implement a curriculum that meets individual children's stage of development. Staff provide sensory experiences with water for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children show curiosity and delight as they experiment with pouring and filling containers. Additional funding is used to provide resources to support learning, such as sensory mats for children to enjoy different textures on their feet. Staff follow the interests of younger two-year-olds in order to engage them as they settle into new experiences. When children become upset, staff warmly provide cuddles and help children to regulate their feelings. Children learn to be kind, for example holding hands to help a friend balance.
• Staff help children to develop fine motor skills as they roll out play dough and complete puzzles. Younger children learn to build confidence as they climb and balance outside. Staff introduce older children to the school hall where they practise gross motor skills on an obstacle course, running between cones, balancing and jumping onto mats. Staff encourage and praise children for their efforts. Children learn to move around each other, and staff support children to learn to move so that 'we can all be safe'.
• Staff work well with other professionals to ensure that children get the help and support they need to be ready for school. For example, they work well with speech and language therapists to ensure children develop their communication skills. They welcome teachers from the schools that children will eventually attend into the setting to meet the children and learn about how well they are doing. However, when children also attend another early years setting, staff do not always communicate regularly enough with those settings to ensure they have a full and accurate picture of children's learning.
• Children learn about mathematics throughout the day. Staff read stories that help children learn about numbers, such as 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar', and they encourage children to count the fruit that the caterpillar eats. Children practise counting using their hands and proudly put up four fingers as they talk about being four years old. Children sing a birthday song as they play in the role-play area together and compare how old they are. Children learn about shapes as they balance blocks and explore concepts such as length and distance as they run and jump in the hall.
• Staff use electronic systems to share information with parents about children's learning, and parents enjoy the regular feedback at collection and drop-off times. Parents value the time staff give to getting to know them and their children, and they comment on how welcoming staff are to everyone at the setting.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure that all staff are well trained in strategies aimed at supporting children's communication skills
• develop partnerships with other settings that children also attend so that information about children's learning and development is shared.