Leaside Under Fives Kindergarten

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and separate from their parents with ease. They behave well and develop positive attitudes to their learning. The well-organised environment promotes their natural curiosity and eagerness to learn. Children are confident and interact well with staff. Overall, children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress.

Children develop good independence skills in a variety of ways. They are learning to be self-sufficient in meeting their own hygiene needs. They prepare themselves effectively for the outdoor environment and tidy away after themselves once they have finished in their play and exploration. Children are encouraged to make their own choices in their play according to their individual interests.

Staff are positive role models and children are polite and kind. They are caring towards each other and play together happily. Children are understanding of other children's differing needs and abilities. All children have good opportunities to develop their physical skills and learn to move in different ways. This includes enjoying dance and outdoor play.

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

• Staff work well together as an effective team. They meet regularly to review children's progress and achievements. Leaders provide staff with a clear curriculum that helps children to build on what they already know and can do. Staff plan experiences to support what children need to know next, considering their individual stage of learning and emerging interests.
• The manager and staff have a good understanding of each child, their families, and their individual needs. Staff have systems in place to obtain children's starting points on entering the pre-school and can talk confidently about their key children's likes, dislikes and abilities.
• Staff encourage children to take an active part in their own self-care. For example, they support young children to begin using the toilet and model how to wash their hands effectively. Children learn about the importance of healthy lifestyles and good oral health. Staff work with parents to promote healthy packed lunches, drinks and snacks.
• Children explore their own uniqueness. Staff promote inclusion and avoid gender stereotyping when planning activities. For example, staff learn about family cultures from parents and reflect this in pre-school life. Children learn about cultures different from their own by taking part in a wide range of cultural celebrations across the year.
• Overall, children benefit from engaging interactions with staff. Staff offer a narrative to children's play and encourage them to participate in action songs and rhymes, helping to promote their language skills. However, some staff do not give children enough time to think and respond to questions before moving on to something new.
• Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. Children receive praise and encouragement when they are kind and helpful, such as putting away their toys. This promotes their confidence and gives them a sense of achievement.
• Children with SEND receive good support. For example, the setting has robust relationships with partner professionals. This helps create a consistent approach to children's development. However, staff do not have enough information about children who speak more than one language. At times, staff are not sure about the language spoken when children are at home to be able to fully support their overall development and understanding of themselves.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents speak highly of the pre-school and the service it provides. Staff support children well when they join new rooms at the pre-school or move on to the next stage in their learning.
• The manager ensures that rigorous recruitment procedures and robust induction systems are in place for new staff. These help to maintain high standards and consistent quality throughout the pre-school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review ways for staff to provide consistent support to children who are learning to speak English as an additional language, to help them to communicate their thoughts and needs
• support staff to give children the time and opportunity to respond to questions, to promote their developing critical thinking skills.