Meadowside Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children excitedly come into this well-designed and stimulating pre-school. They are greeted warmly by the caring staff. Children happily seek out friends and choose their play. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress as there is a well-sequenced and planned curriculum that staff follow. For example, older children work collaboratively together to build a block of flats from wooden blocks. They carefully place people in windows and doors. They use their problem-solving skills to create a solid structure. Two-year-olds play outside, concentrating hard as they create a rail track for their trains. Staff sensitively encourage them to achieve their goal, offering suggestions to help the pieces fit together. Children show delight when they complete the track.

Children feel very secure and safe. There are clear boundaries in place, so children know what is expected of them. Staff have high expectations for children. Children stay focused at activities for long periods. Older children independently set up a play shop and use real coins in exchange for vegetables. Staff observe two-year-olds carefully and support them by modelling language and showing them new skills. For example, when the children explore flour in a tray, staff show them how the scales move when they add more flour to one side.

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

• Children are confident in this setting because staff support them well. Staff model new words and extend language during play. They use open-ended questions, enabling children to think for themselves and come up with ideas and solutions. Children develop good language skills. They learn about rhythm and rhyme as they repeat familiar nursery rhymes and songs. They share stories and call out repeated words and sentences that they are familiar with.
• Staff take time to know and understand children when they start. This means staff can plan activities that ensure new children progress from the start. Staff observe and plan next steps well to ensure children progress. However, sometimes staff miss opportunities to extend older children's learning during their play, for example by encouraging them to think of ways to remove objects they have posted inside a bottle. This means older children can get distracted and sometimes challenge the rules of the setting, such as running about, which disturbs others.
• Children learn about the world around them. They go on walks to explore the seasons and nature. They hunt for bugs and comment on what they see. They learn about risk and how to follow staff's instructions to keep safe. Children explore water and sand in the lovely garden. Children think about how water spreads over the ground and evaporates in the sun. Older children use language to compare quantities as they add water to tubs and jugs. They discuss how heavy things are and how they can move them safely. Two-year-olds laugh as they spray water and see how far it will reach.
• Children develop a good understanding of numbers and quantities. They recognise dates on the calendar and count vegetables in the role play area. Older children sequence number symbols and attempt to write some for labels for their shop. Younger children explore sensory play dough, which smells like strawberries, and develop their small-muscle skills ready for early mark making. Children learn about the importance of having a healthy lifestyle through physical activity. They take part in a weekly football skills class and use the school field to run about, negotiating space. They prepare and eat healthy snacks and enjoy a freshly prepared hot meal at lunchtime.
• The manager and staff have very effective partnerships with parents. The manager is incredibly supportive of the whole family as she knows how important family relationships are to children's well-being. Parents seek advice to help them support their children more effectively at home. Staff support parents to help their children become independent and ready for school. They regularly share children's progress and next steps with parents.
• The manager is very ambitious for all children to succeed. The company's early years lead supports the manager very effectively and together they focus on staff development and outcomes for children. They are highly reflective and passionate about training. The manager mentors staff as they complete their training. She ensures all staff are happy through regular meetings.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide more challenging opportunities for older children to further enhance their development.