Little Notley's Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff take care to ensure the pre-school is welcoming and inspiring for all children attending. The garden offers children a wide variety of exciting and interesting activities and children relish their time outdoors. They arrive happy; they have established positive relationships with the caring and nurturing staff, and close bonds with their key person. Staff invest time in getting to know the children and their families. They speak with kindness and respect to the children. Children's behaviour is very good as they understand the staff's high expectations. They leave their parents with ease and show they are eager to investigate what is on offer.

Children have great fun washing bicycles in the car wash. They eagerly offer to help dig holes as they plant new flowers in the garden. Children learn about the environment as they water the plants and discuss what is needed to make them grow. They show their tadpoles to visitors to the pre-school and explain how they have changed and how to care for them. Children make choices about where they play, and can flow freely from indoors to the garden, fully supported by the staff. They have many opportunities to practise early writing skills. For example, they write with chalk on the floor, paint with water in the garden and make patterns in the sand. They show fascination as they watch staff draw letters in the sand, eager to copy them and 'have a go'.

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

• All children attending make good progress. This includes children who require additional support or who speak English as an additional language. A broad curriculum is planned both indoors and outdoors around children's individual needs and interests, and covers all areas of learning. Activities are provided with a precise focus on supporting each child's unique needs.
• Staff work closely with parents and have established professional and positive working relationships to ensure they know the children well. Parents are regularly encouraged to share their children's development and interests from home. Parents comment that their children make 'so much progress' and feel their children are confident and well prepared for school. Parents' written comments state how happy their children are to attend, and how grateful parents are for the support they are offered from the caring and friendly staff.
• Children's literacy skills are developing. Their speech and language are well supported, and staff are skilful in their interactions with the children. Staff provide running commentaries during activities. They allow children ample time to respond to questions, and broaden their vocabulary by introducing new words to the conversation. Singing activities are very popular and children thoroughly enjoy interactive group singing. They concentrate and listen with intent. A cosy, quiet and comfortable book area has recently been introduced, and children enjoy sharing stories with their friends.
• The manager demonstrates her enthusiasm and commitment to providing children with high-quality care and education. Development plans are in place and there is a culture of evaluation. Staff are positively encouraged and supported to complete training wherever possible. Regular supervision and peer-on-peer observations mean any training needs or practice issues can be swiftly addressed and supported. All staff speak positively about their role and comment they feel valued, their ideas are welcomed and are very happy at work.
• The manager and her team acknowledge the importance of preparing children for their transition to school. There is a strong focus on children's well-being, and children demonstrate they feel secure and are confident. They show curiosity and an eagerness to learn and ask lots of questions. They develop the skills they need for successful future learning through well-planned activities. However, staff do not consistently develop relationships with other early years settings children attend, to provide continuity in their learning and development.
• Children are inquisitive and enjoy some role-play opportunities. They use dressing-up clothes and show care as they take dolls for walks in buggies. Children negotiate space well and are careful not to bump their friends. They enthusiastically make dinner using play foods. However, additional resources are not always available to fully support children's imaginary play and to captivate and challenge their interests further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen partnerships with other early years settings children attend, to provide consistent support for their learning and development
• develop the role-play area and provide a range of resources to enable all children to explore and develop their own play and ideas.