Kaleidoscope Pre-school

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the pre-school happy and excited. They receive a warm welcome from the friendly and caring staff team. Children know the routines well. For instance, they remove their coats and bags, hang them on their pegs and go off to find their friends. The atmosphere in this pre-school is calm and relaxing. Children freely explore and choose which activities they engage with. For instance, they strengthen their small-muscle skills while rolling and patting play dough. Children enjoy making marks and pushing seeds into the dough to create their own 'fruit'.

Children's behaviour is good. Staff model positive behaviour and discuss strategies with children to share resources fairly. For example, they use sand timers to help children know when it is their turn to use the ride-on toys.

Children engage in a wealth of stimulating activities and learning experiences which build on their vocabulary. For example, they explore and investigate the properties of flour as they listen to the story of 'The Little Red Hen'. Children enjoy using a range of equipment to grind cereal to make their own 'flour'. Toddlers begin to repeat short phrases they hear, such as 'crunchy cereal'. Older children eagerly use new vocabulary that staff introduce them to. For example, they talk about 'yeast' and 'flour' when recalling the process of baking bread. This helps all children to develop good communication skills.

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

• The manager has a clear vision of the curriculum. Staff share this understanding and talk confidently about what they want individual children to learn. However, on occasion, staff do not consistently ensure that children's learning and play is not disrupted. For example, staff do not ensure that the environment is quiet when reading stories to encourage good listening and attention skills.
• Children show increasing ability to recall newly learned knowledge with skilful support from staff. For example, they remember the names of shapes when prompted by staff, and staff reinforce this learning by pointing out shapes in the environment throughout the session.
• Staff report high levels of well-being and enjoy being part of this supportive team. The manager completes regular supervisions with staff, where they discuss training needs, their key children and staff's well-being. Staff training is well focused to benefit children. For instance, they have attended training on how to encourage children to take appropriate risks and challenges as they play.
• Staff manage children's behaviour well. They are consistent in their approach and remind children to use 'kind hands', to take their turn and share the resources. Staff quickly intervene to avert any inappropriate behaviour, explaining to the children why certain behaviours are not acceptable and might upset the feelings of their friends.
• Staff promote children's good health. Children spend lots of time outside in the fresh air developing their physical skills. They thoroughly enjoy negotiating space on the wheeled toys and searching for one another during a game of hide and seek.
• Staff provide children with many opportunities to develop their independence skills. For instance, children find their name cards during group times and self-serve their snacks. Children skilfully use tongs to serve their fruit and confidently pour their own drink. These tasks help them to develop perseverance and life skills.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive good levels of care. Staff complete timely referrals and engage with a range of other professionals. Additional funding is used appropriately and has a notable impact on children. For example, additional funding has been used to purchase sensory resources to support children's learning and encourage their engagement and exploration. This means that all children, including those with SEND, make good progress in their early education.
• Partnerships with parents are very strong. Parents comment that communication is thorough, and they feel well informed. They comment that the pre-school is 'simply amazing' and that their children are 'thriving'.
• Staff use a story about a colour monster to help children to talk about their emotions. They display photographs which show what children's faces look like when they are feeling happy, sad or angry. This helps to support children's emotional well-being.
• Children learn about the community in which they live. For instance, they enjoy walking to the local National Trust park and playgrounds. Staff support children to learn about different cultural backgrounds. These activities help children to develop a respectful attitude as they learn about what makes them unique.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider how noise levels have an impact on children's learning, particularly during story sessions.