Ke Steps Pre-School Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are greeted warmly by staff when they arrive. Those who have been absent due to illness are greeted with 'I missed you' by the manager. This contributes to children feeling valued in the pre-school. If children are unsettled, staff provide them with comfort. They sing nursery rhymes and read stories to children. This works effectively to distract children and results in them settling quickly.

Children have opportunities to develop their balance and coordination. They are offered a helping hand from staff to promote their safety as they are encouraged to walk across wooden beams. Staff ask children to consider if the equipment they use is safe to walk across, helping them to identify and manage risks in their play. Children are supported by staff to wait their turn to walk across the wooden planks, promoting positive behaviour. Children are keen to investigate and explore the toys and resources staff offer them. They find torches and show fascination as they shine them around the room. Staff give children gentle reminders not to shine the light in people's faces because it might hurt their eyes, helping them to be considerate to others. Staff put their arms against walls, asking children to shine a torch onto it, showing them how to make shadows.

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

• The manager and staff focus their curriculum on supporting children's communication and language skills. For example, staff ask children a good range of questions, encouraging their thinking skills. Children listen to and follow staff's instructions well.
• Staff help children to learn about similarities and differences between themselves and others. For example, occasionally, children wear clothes from their own cultures. When they do this, staff ask children to share with others the cultural celebrations they attend with family members. This contributes to children, especially those who speak English as an additional language, having a sense of belonging in the pre-school.
• Staff help children to recognise numbers in their play. For example, when children look at numbers on cards and identify a number eight, staff ask them to recognise other numbers such as one and two and tell children that it is the number 12.
• The manager has a new staff team and supports them well. For example, staff are given additional responsibilities, such as being a health and safety officer and fire marshal. The manager ensures that they attend training courses to help them understand their new roles in keeping children safe.
• The manager and staff reflect on their practice. They make changes that allow children to follow their interests. For example, a toy kitchen has been added to the outside area due to children's interests in pretending to cook. This helps children to build on their imaginative skills.
• Staff praise children for their achievements. For instance, they give them a high five for balancing and say 'well done' when children switch off torches by themselves. However, staff do not fully support children to understand their own and others' feelings and emotions. For example, when children struggle to share, staff do not help them to understand how it might make others feel.
• The manager works with other professionals to find out about children's individual needs and how staff can support their progress. For example, the manager and staff support children to follow their own learning styles. This includes providing children with soft balls when they show an interest in throwing, allowing them to do this safely. Staff support children to avoid using barriers in their mouths, to encourage their speaking skills.
• Staff share information with parents at the end of each day about activities their children took part in and enjoyed. However, staff do not help all parents understand how they intend to build on their children's individual learning and how parents can contribute to this at home. This will provide a more united approach to supporting children's development.
• Staff encourage children's independence. For example, at snack time, staff invite children to use tongs to select the fruit they would like to eat. Children are asked to pour their own drinks.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to strengthen their interactions with children to support them to understand their own and others feelings and emotions
• support staff to share with parents how they intend to build on their children's individual learning and how parents can contribute to this at home.