Madley Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are very happy and settled at this warm and welcoming pre-school. They separate from their parents and carers with ease. Children form strong relationships with the kind and caring staff team. They demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. Staff support children to be independent from an early age. Children take responsibility for their belongings. They carefully place them in the cloakroom. Older children manage their self-care and understand the importance of good hygiene. Children take turns to help with everyday tasks, such as preparing snack. They skilfully cut and peel a selection of fruits. Staff engage children in thoughtful conversations. They identify the colours red and yellow as they talk about their favourite and least favourite fruits.

Children develop mathematical skills. They confidently count and identify shapes. Children concentrate as they mix and stir the ingredients to make dough. Staff sit alongside them to offer support. They ask children questions and give them time to think and respond. Children develop problem-solving skills. They decide how much flour they will need to make the dough the right consistency. Children learn to care for living things. They grow plants from seeds and help to feed and clean the pre-school's pet guinea pig's enclosure. Children are gentle and quiet as they wait for their turn to stroke the guinea pig.

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

• The leadership and management of the pre-school are strong. They work well together and strive to deliver high-quality care and education to all. Leaders successfully thread the pre-school's values into everyday practice. Their values underpin the experiences they provide for children effectively.
• Leaders place a strong focus on staff continuing with their professional development. Staff regularly attend training to enhance their already good knowledge and skills. They feel very well supported in their roles. Staff comment on the positive relationships they have with each other and the management team.
• Staff provide children with an attractive and well-resourced learning environment. They plan an ambitious curriculum that is tailored to meet children's individual needs. Staff know the children well. They regularly assess their progress and plan activities to help move them forward in their learning. However, staff are yet to consistently share this information with parents to help them to continue and extend children's learning at home.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well. Staff work in partnership with parents and other professionals to share information and ensure that children receive the support they need to make the best possible progress.
• Partnerships with parents are effective. Staff speak to parents at drop-off and collection times, and they add information such as photos of children's achievements to their online learning records. Parents are invited to meet with their children's key person at the end of term to discuss their progress and to view their child's learning journey book.
• Children have daily opportunities for fresh air and exercise. They develop good hand-to-eye coordination as they fill and empty containers with water and sand. After lunch, staff provide children with time to rest and relax their bodies. Children understand this daily routine. They find their cushion and lie on the floor. Children take deep breaths as they listen to calming music.
• Staff talk to children throughout the day to support their communication and language skills. They use single words and associative sounds to support the youngest and non-verbal children's emerging speech. Staff encourage children to join in with action songs and rhymes. Young children enthusiastically move around the room. Staff introduce words such as 'stomp' to describe the movements they make.
• Although staff introduce words such as 'happy' and 'sad' to support children to develop the language of feelings, they are yet to provide them with a wide enough range of experiences to fully support their understanding of emotions and enable them to describe how they feel.
• Staff regularly take children to visit places of interest in their local community. For example, they visit the church and the environmental centre. This helps children to learn about the world they live in and to develop their social skills in different surroundings.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• share even more information with parents about children's next steps in learning to support them to continue and extend children's learning at home
• provide children with more experiences to learn the language of feelings and articulate their emotions.