James Oglethorpe Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at pre-school at the start of the day and are greeted warmly by staff at the door. This helps them to separate from their parents with ease. Children thrive in a warm and nurturing environment, where they form strong, positive relationships with staff and each other. They benefit from the care and attention of a well-qualified and observant team, who have a secure understanding of each child's individual needs and interests. This caring approach helps build children's confidence and self-esteem. Staff tailor a well-planned and stimulating curriculum to children's interests and developmental stages, which enables them to make good progress.

Staff are excellent role models and behaviour expectations are high. They consistently support and remind children to use their 'Marvellous manners', so that children confidently follow established routines and boundaries. They demonstrate politeness and kindness towards each other as they take turns and share resources. With gentle support, children actively contribute to tidying up, this helps them foster a sense of responsibility and respect for their environment.

Staff plan transitions for children with care and sensitivity. By talking with parents, they learn about children's routines and what helps them feel safe. This supports children to settle into pre-school with ease. Children who are moving on to school benefit from the pre-school working in close partnership with the on-site school.

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

• Leaders and managers run the pre-school with care and compassion, to create a place where all children and families are welcomed. Staff carefully assess each child's needs and work sensitively with parents and carers to plan appropriate next steps. Regular communication, including through newsletters and parent meetings, ensures families remain well informed about children's progress. When additional support is required, the pre-school requests support from external agencies in a timely manner.
• Staff encourage and support children to do things for themselves. For example, children are asked what they need to do before they eat. The respond by saying, 'Wash my hands.' This contributes to children developing good hygiene and self-care habits. However, on occasion during snack times, children have limited opportunities to serve their own food and drinks, which reduces their chances to develop independence and self-help skills in daily routines.
• Staff consistently support children's communication and language development throughout the day. They introduce new vocabulary as they share books, songs and rhymes and comment on what children are doing. This encourages back- and-forth conversations as children share their ideas and learn new words.
• Younger children stretch, pull and squeeze play dough. This helps to develop and strengthen the muscles in their hands in preparation for early writing. Older children learn to use mark-making tools with increasing purpose as they form the letters of their names.
• Staff offer children some opportunities to understand more about cultural and religious celebrations and events. They learn about some cultural costumes during shared activities with parents. However, these activities are not consistent or varied, which means that children have limited opportunities to learn more about their shared differences and similarities.
• Staff consistently encourage children to reflect on the impact of their actions on others. They gently guide children's thinking to help them consider their peers' feelings. For example, they ask them to consider how their friends might feel if they do not share toys with them. Children respond by saying, 'They will feel sad.' This approach fosters children's emotional regulation and promotes the development of positive social skills.
• Leaders and managers demonstrate a strong commitment to continuous professional development by regularly engaging with early years training, including that provided by the local authority. Staff report that ongoing training for them has a positive impact on their practice. They state that they are offered weekly support for their well-being, regular one-to-one supervision sessions and training and development opportunities. This contributes to a motivated staff team, who feel valued and supported.
• Staff work closely with parents and carers, ensuring they stay up to date on their children's learning and progress. They invest time in understanding each child's home life, enabling them to respond effectively to individual needs and provide targeted learning opportunities.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review snack times so children have opportunities to do things for themselves to help promote their independence and self-help skills
• introduce a broad range of resources and opportunities to support children's understanding of cultural differences and practices.