Jack and Jill Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are warmly greeted by the nurturing staff and are eager to start their day at the pre-school. They quickly select from the well-planned outside area what they want to play with. New starters are sensitively supported by their key person, who works closely with their parents during their transition to the pre-school. This helps children to feel safe and secure as they develop positive relationships.

Children are currently learning about nature and growing. For instance, fresh flowers are thoughtfully displayed with the play dough, as well as various creative materials. This ignites children's curiosity as they make flowers from the play dough and recall previous learning about planting. Staff support children's love of books. Children remember their favourite stories and link items such as beans to Jack and the Bean Stalk. Staff use these opportunities to extend children's early literacy, introducing new vocabulary. Furthermore, children continue to select story props to support their play. Children develop good communication skills. All children, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress in their development in readiness for future learning.

Staff have high expectations of children. They gently remind children to use their manners and give children time to negotiate sharing resources. This helps children to manage their behaviour and develop kind friendships. Children's behaviour is good; they treat each other with consideration and respect.

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

• The manager has worked hard with staff to develop a good curriculum based around themes and the children's interests. Staff plan a variety of activities for children. They have a clear understanding of the learning intentions within their curriculum, which is well sequenced to help children remember previous learning. This helps children to consolidate and build on their prior knowledge. However, occasionally, some adult-led activities last too long, and staff do not recognise when children are becoming distracted. This means some children do not fully benefit from these activities, as they lose their focus and become restless.
• Staff interactions are mostly supportive of children's learning. Occasionally, however, during children's spontaneous play, staff sometimes miss quieter children, who would benefit from their interactions to help extend their play and support their learning further.
• Staff work very well together as part of a team to support children's behaviour. They give children consistent messages to support their emotions. This helps children understand what is expected of them and promotes their overall behaviour.
• Children learn how to keep themselves healthy. For example, before mealtimes and when they finish playing outside, children know to wash their hands. Staff teach children about the different foods that are good for them. This helps to promote children's good health.
• Staff plan the pre-school routines well. They ensure that all children have daily fresh air and exercise. Younger children develop their confidence as they learn to use the small hanging bars and ride bikes, knowing a member of staff is ready to help when needed. Older children are creative outside and begin to form letters and numbers of importance to them on the large whiteboards. Children have ample opportunities to develop their muscle groups in preparation for later learning.
• Children with SEND are supported well. Staff work closely with parents and external agencies to ensure the best outcomes for all children. The manager acts with integrity to ensure children with SEND receive the highest level of support. She works alongside the local authority to access additional funding for children who require individual support, to enable them to make the best possible progress in their development.
• Parents are very happy with the care and education their children receive. They comment that staff know their children extremely well and would have no hesitation recommending the pre-school to others. Parents appreciate the information staff share about their children's needs and ideas for activities to do at home. This provides a consistent approach for children's development.
• The manager is very passionate about the pre-school and her team. Staff report that they feel well supported in their roles. Newer members of staff appreciate the support with their ongoing professional development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider the length of time that children are expected to sit and listen during adult-led activities, to help children remain engaged and focused
• support staff to recognise when to enhance and extend children's play, particularly for quieter children at the setting.