Manthorpe Pre-School Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are enthusiastic learners who love coming to the homely environment created by staff. Children's interests and happiness are at the heart of every experience staff plan, capturing children's attention. Children develop secure relationships with staff and other children. This positively impacts on children's emotional development and well-being and ensures they feel safe.

Children acquire a breadth of skills and knowledge and make choices from a range of fully accessible resources. Children use their keen imagination while developing their hand muscles. For example, children show determination when chopping up different vegetables, making vegetable soup at their restaurant. They are proud of what makes them unique as they discuss that some of them are vegan.

Children are curious and independent. They share their ideas while exploring a range of physical opportunities. For example, children decide they want to go down the slide faster. The children discuss different ways they could speed up. Supported by staff, they try sitting on a mat. The children confidently tell the inspector their idea worked 'super well' and laugh as they slide much faster. Children adhere to staff's consistent boundaries and behave exceptionally well. Older children remind younger children they must wash their hands before snack time. Children are very courteous to others and consistently use their manners. Children hold the door for their friends and say 'excuse me' when they have something to tell staff.

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

• Staff have an extensive knowledge of children's learning and development needs and have high aspirations for all children. They observe the children throughout the day and accurately assess what they need to learn next. Staff identify any potential gaps in learning or experiences. They work effectively with other agencies when children need additional support.
• Staff are caring and show particular dedication when supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They adapt opportunities to ensure every child fully accesses the curriculum, including using Makaton communication. This allows all children to feel included, interacting with staff and building friendships with their peers. While practising the sign for 'sad', a child signs to his friends, 'I'm not sad, I'm happy.'
• Staff follow children's interests when planning learning opportunities. For instance, staff support children to repeat familiar phrases through their interest in sharks. Children listen intently as staff read the story and excitedly shout, 'There's a shark in the park!'. Staff encourage them to use a pretend telescope and search for the shark. The children are inquisitive and ask, 'Why isn't it a crocodile?'.
• Staff's interactions are effective. Staff use a mix of instructions, commentary and questions while making gloop with the children. The children use their hands and different objects to make marks in the gloop. Children discuss what they can see and feel, learning new vocabulary such as 'disappear' and 'oval'. However, occasionally, some adult-led activities are not fully adapted for different children's abilities. Therefore, some children who need more challenge begin to lose focus in the activity.
• Staff praise children when they are independent and put their shoes and coats on without support. Children relish in opportunities to solve problems. For example, children smile as they work out as a team how to successfully move a pipe, making a ramp for their cars. Children understand and follow instructions from staff. However, on occasion, staff do not help children to understand what is expected of them next, meaning transitions through the day are not always purposeful. For example, children become distracted when lining up to wash their hands as staff do not make clear that it is lunchtime.
• Staff support children to learn about different values within the community and wider world, such as the importance of family mealtimes. Staff eat lunch with the children, discussing different foods they enjoy and where they are from. Children and their families share their different cultures and celebrations with the setting, such as Diwali. Staff plan opportunities to help children learn about nature that they may not have experienced before, including watching chicks hatch from eggs.
• Leaders and managers are passionate about good-quality professional development and offer a broad range of training. The well-established leadership team creates an environment where staff continuously evaluate the children's experience and work together to implement improvements. Leaders support all staff to develop their practice.
• Staff work closely alongside parents and other providers on all aspects of children's learning and care needs, including toilet training. Parents are well informed about their child's development and feel involved in the setting's improvements.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• differentiate further when planning adult-led activities, ensuring they provide suitable challenge for children and fully support all children's developmental needs
• strengthen the use of daily routines to further develop children's understanding of staff's expectations, to reduce the amount of time children spend not being occupied.