Merry Go Round Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The manager of this family-oriented pre-school is passionate about providing children with a good start in life. Staff welcome children in with a guiding hand or a cuddle. Children come in happily and enjoy the many activities set out ready for them. Staff sit close by children and support them to play together and to feel settled. Staff are clear with their expectations of children's behaviour. Consequently, children behave well towards one another and know how to use the equipment safely.

The manager and staff have a good understanding of what children need to learn and why. They work hard to involve all children in learning by listening to their interests and including these in their planning. Staff understand that all children are unique and learn differently. Most staff work well to provide the right level of support to each child to meet their needs. Indoors, children enjoy practising their fine motor skills with diggers in the sand and tweezers in the water tray. They thoroughly enjoy using the garden space, where they smile and giggle as they swing, climb, ride and build.

Staff focus on supporting children to build the fundamental skills to support them in their next steps of learning. They use clear instructions and patiently allow children to try and practise new skills themselves. Children grow in independence and confidence and their social skills blossom.

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

• The manager has a good understanding of special educational needs and/or disabilities. She works effectively with other agencies to provide a consistency in the approach to support these children. Staff provide simple targets that children can achieve in interesting ways. Funding is well spent on resources to support children to feel settled, secure and able to meet their individual goals.
• The overall quality of teaching is good. Staff interactions are engaging and children enjoy them. However, on occasion, some staff are less confident in extending children's learning and moving them forward. The manager has not focused sharply enough on staff supervision sessions to help her quickly identify and provide support for these minor areas of weakness.
• Staff are clear and consistent with their expectations for rules and boundaries. If children are upset or have a dispute with each other, then staff are quick to intervene effectively. Staff explain and help children to understand how their own behaviour makes others feel. Children are quick to respond and return happily to playing together. Staff use praise well to encourage good behaviour and use resources such as timers to support children to share and take turns.
• Children are motivated to engage with the activities provided. Staff welcome them into play and show them how to use different resources. Children show great perseverance when staff support them to build a marble run tower and count cubes. However, at times, transitions into group-time activities are not managed effectively. This means that not all children are ready to join in, and some remain playing on their own, missing out on the learning. Other transition times, such as lunchtime, can feel slightly chaotic. Not all children are ready to sit and eat together for a positive lunchtime experience.
• Staff use a key-person system well to promote children's well-being and help them to form secure attachments. Children often seek staff out to play with them or to provide them with comfort. Children show they feel safe and close to staff by stroking their faces and cuddling into them. Staff are often heard singing to children to support their feeling of security.
• The manager and her staff have built strong relationships with parents. Staff inform parents of what their child is doing and what they are working on. They provide extra resources and support to help children at home, such as books and visual cards for communication. Staff support parents of children with additional needs well and signpost them to the correct agencies. Parents comment on the friendly and 'family feel' to the setting.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the arrangements for staff supervision, coaching and training to ensure consistency in the quality of teaching across staff
• review and improve transition periods so that children are consistently engaged in meaningful learning.