Jigsaw Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish in this well-organised, vibrant and welcoming pre-school. Kind and nurturing staff invest their time and effort in getting to know new children. They develop an accurate picture of children's home experiences to help them settle well. All children, including the new ones, show confidence, independence and positive attitudes to learning. This is enhanced by the considerable care and close attention children receive to make them feel safe and secure. Children's emotional well-being is prioritised, which contributes to the good outcomes for children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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

• Leaders are dedicated to continually driving improvement. The cohesive team have worked with leaders to make successful changes to the provision since the last inspection. For instance, the outdoor area is carefully thought-out to provide innovative and stimulating opportunities for children. Being outdoors to explore, investigate and actively exercise, is a very popular choice amongst children. In addition, recent staff training on supporting children to self-regulate their emotions has led to a significant adaptation to the learning environment. For instance, staff have created a quiet, cosy place where children can go to reflect and relax at any time.
• The curriculum for developing and enhancing children's communication and language skills is delivered well by staff. Leaders ensure that staff continuously promote children's language and a true love for books. Children enjoy being read to by the enthusiastic staff and get fully immersed in what is happening in the story. They link their ideas to past events, such as a recent visit from firefighters. Children apply the new words they hear, such as 'fire hose' and 'siren'. This helps to enrich their literacy and language skills effectively.
• Staff skilfully support children with SEND. Knowledgeable staff work together to identify children's emerging gaps quickly. They implement personalised programmes to help address these children's additional needs. Leaders work closely with staff, external professionals and parents to successfully improve children's outcomes. Additional funding is used effectively to enhance children's individual support, for example by providing targeted teaching and resources to further support those who are eligible.
• Children learn to competently manage their self-care needs. They follow good hygiene routines, such as independently getting a tissue to wipe their nose and thoroughly washing their hands after. Children intelligently remember the need to 'rub away the germs'. Staff guide them to practice good tooth brushing techniques, for instance on toy teeth models. During these activities, they talk to children about healthy food choices and the impact of eating lots of sugary foods and drink on their teeth. This supports children's understanding of how to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
• Leaders have high expectations for staff's teaching and children's progress. Staff give high priority to help children gain the core knowledge and skills to prepare them for future learning. However, leader's ongoing monitoring of staff's practice and understanding of ways to effectively deliver a more challenging mathematics curriculum, is not robust enough. These inconsistencies mean that staff do not always build on children's existing mathematical thinking in a more sequenced way to enable them to make the best possible progress.
• Parent partnership is a key strength of the pre-school. Parents are kept fully informed about their children's progress and next steps in learning. They are complimentary about how well staff know their children and care for them in a personalised way. Parents are regularly invited into the setting for 'stay and play' sessions. This helps them to see first-hand how well their children engage in the wide range of activities, as well as giving them ideas to continue their children's learning at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• identify, address and monitor the individual training opportunities for each member of staff more precisely, to strengthen their knowledge, planning and delivery of the curriculum, particularly in mathematics.