Knebworth Pre-School Group

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the pre-school with a smile and separate from their parents with ease. The effective settling-in processes support children to quickly build a sense of belonging. This is especially evident with the many children who are new to the pre-school this term. Children display strong bonds with staff, and new children quickly build attachments with their designated key person. Staff plan a curriculum that closely follows children's own choices and learning needs. The young children who are currently attending have lots of time to explore and be creative. For example, they enjoy making collages from different materials. Staff allow children to use their own ideas, with no set intent for their creative work. This enables children to learn how to use their imaginations.

Children enjoy coming together as a group. They engage in group discussions, showing their developing understanding of the world as they discuss seasonal changes and weather patterns. Children behave well. Staff help them to gain the skills they require to work well with others, and this supports their future learning. Children learn to follow instructions through activities and music and movement sessions. Staff sensitively build on the instructions they give to children. For example, they start off with simple instructions and move on to more complex ones when they know children are capable of succeeding.

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

• Staff take time to get to know children and their families when they first join the pre-school. The gather valuable information that helps them to understand and plan for children's individual care and learning needs. Ongoing information-sharing with parents enables staff to keep their knowledge of children's interests current. As a result, children are supported to make consistently good progress.
• All staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities effectively. They liaise closely with outside agencies, parents and other early years settings that children attend. This enables all those involved with children to implement helpful and consistent strategies that support children to learn. Staff successfully use picture cards to help children know what is expected of them. This includes helping them to understand the routine.
• Parents' comments about the pre-school and staff are very positive. They state that their children are making good progress and are keen to attend. Parents comment on how stable the staff team is and how this results in children feeling safe and secure.
• Children are busy and keen to explore the engaging environment. For example, they have opportunities to build, dress up and look at books. Staff deploy themselves well so that they can build on the learning that they see taking place. However, at times, staff interrupt children's engagement and enjoyment of learning to move them on to the next activity. For example, children thoroughly enjoy being out in the garden but the time they have outside is very short. This results in children, at times, being upset as they are not ready to come back inside.
• Staff help children to understand the needs of others and how they can help those who are less fortunate than themselves. For example, they take part in Christmas shoe box appeals. Staff help children to understand the whole process. They visit shops to buy resources for the boxes, pack them and watch videos that show where their boxes will go. Children show empathy and compassion for those who will be receiving their gifts.
• Staff successfully promote children's safety in the pre-school. They review risk assessments, basing their assessments on the children who are attending. They supervise children closely, especially when they move around the building, such as from their rooms to the church hall. Extra precautions are currently in place to meet the needs of the young children who are currently attending.
• The provider has robust recruitment procedures in place to help ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Staff report that they are supported well by the provider and their well-being is good. There are secure systems in place to support staff's practice and to help them develop further, such as through supervision meetings and training.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the daily routine to help children remain engaged in their chosen learning and activity.