Longleaze Pre-School and Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children have warm, positive relationships with staff. They are happy to attend and settle quickly. Staff have a gentle, caring approach that supports children's emotional well-being. Key workers know children and their families well. When children first start attending, they have a settling-in period to suit their individual needs. This contributes to children feeling safe and secure.

Staff provide a wide range of resources and activities for children to play with. Children enjoy exploring the indoor and outdoor environments with their friends. Staff support children to play games, such as hide and seek, and children are highly engaged and excitedly join in. Children learn to safely take risks for themselves as they carefully balance along beams. Staff teach children about the importance of staying healthy and looking after their bodies.

Staff skilfully use visual prompts to help children learn the routines and expectations. For example, children understand that when the sand timer finishes, it is time to tidy up. Children behave exceptionally well and show respect for others. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those in receipt of additional funding, make good progress from their starting points.

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

• Leaders have a clear vision for their setting. They have an ambitious curriculum and know what they want children to learn. Leaders are committed to supporting children's personal, social and emotional development to ensure that they are happy and ready to learn.
• Key workers observe and accurately assess children. They plan activities to support children's next steps that build on what children already know and can do. Staff help children to prepare for moving on to the next stage in their learning. Children are well prepared for starting school.
• Staff support children's communication and language skills well. They skilfully ask questions to extend children's learning. Staff comment on children's play and introduce new vocabulary. For example, children learn to use a range of interesting words to describe how things sound, such as 'click-clack', and use mathematical vocabulary, such as 'long' or 'short'. Children have daily opportunities for singing, reading stories and developing listening skills.
• Children develop good independent skills. Staff support even the youngest children to pour their own drinks and encourage them to get their own coats and shoes on. Children demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. They are eager to join in with activities and play cooperatively with their friends. Children show pride in their creations and happily recall how they painted fruit and vegetables to make printings.
• Children with SEND are supported excellently. Leaders ensure that referrals to external agencies are made in a timely manner so that children have the right help at the right time. Staff are skilled in supporting children's individual needs, and they provide appropriate interventions to ensure that children with SEND make good progress.
• Staff establish very strong partnerships with parents and other settings that children attend. The nursery holds regular events for families to attend. Staff keep parents updated on children's progress and share ideas for how they can support children's learning at home. Parents are very happy with the communication that they receive, and they say that staff are friendly and approachable.
• Children learn about their local community. They go on regular trips to the library and church, and they enjoy walks in the woods. Staff help children to understand diversity and appreciate what makes them unique.
• Leaders are very reflective and continually evaluate the nursery. They focus on the well-being and workload of staff. Leaders recognise the importance of staff attending regular training. However, there are not always opportunities for staff to reflect on the knowledge they have gained from the training and the impact this has on their practice. Staff have regular supervisions and feel well supported by leaders.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop ways for staff to reflect on training they attend and have opportunities to share their knowledge with others, so it has an impact on their practice.