Middle Rasen and District Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet their key children at the nursery door. Children show they feel safe and secure with staff. They walk into nursery accompanied by staff, with a smile on their face and they confidently wave goodbye to their parents/carers. Staff create an interesting environment for children. For example, in the baby room, they make a relaxing space, where they play gentle music and put soft lights on. They point to the ceiling to help children notice the hanging jellyfish and calming lights. Young children shout 'wow' as they look up with awe and wonder.

Children are supported by staff to build resilience. Staff praise children's efforts and encourage them to keep trying. For example, when children put their own shoes on the wrong feet, staff acknowledge that they put them on their feet, and then encourage children to try again to get them on the correct feet. Children giggle as they swap their shoes over and learn which is the right foot and the left foot.

Staff support children to understand and learn rules. During games, children tell each other how to play. 'Keep it locked in' they say, when their friends reveal their answers before it is time to. Children learn how to keep themselves safe. Staff remind children to 'walk safely', when necessary.

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

• The manager and the staff understand child development and what they want children to learn. They use this knowledge alongside information that they gather from parents and carers about their children. They set up a learning environment to cover all areas of learning in the early years foundation stage.
• Staff observe children to identify their next steps. They use these next steps in learning to plan appropriate adult-led activities to support children to make progress in their learning. Although staff engage with children in free-play experiences, they do not consistently extend the interaction to enable children to learn beyond what they already know. For example, when pre-school children play in the pretend ice-cream shop, staff repeat what children say and do, but do not introduce children to new ideas or knowledge, such as pretending the ice cream is melting because it is too hot.
• Staff point out numbers in books and count out loud to support children to learn the sequence of counting and to recognise numbers. Staff support children to use this knowledge. They hold numbers up, and children call the correct number out. Staff introduce children to mathematical language, for example, while children play in the sand, staff encourage them to fill and empty containers. Staff talk to children and use language of size. They encourage children to look at and work out if they need more or less to fill containers.
• Staff offer children varied experiences to develop their physical skills. To promote babies' larger muscle development, staff set up low-level furniture for babies to use to pull up on. They take older children to access large playground equipment. Children confidently use climbing walls and slides. Staff take children who are less confident by the hand and encourage them to walk up stairs. Staff provide pre-school children with plastic pipes and planks of wood to create ramps. Staff offer guidance as children work together to lift and balance ramps to roll their vehicles down.
• Parents comment positively on the changes the manager has made since being appointed. They add these have been good for their children. For example, the types of activities staff offer their children are more focused to help their children learn. Parents say staff share what their children are working on in nursery. They talk about information that staff share to support their child's learning at home. For example, staff offer ideas of how to support their children to become independent and toilet trained.
• Staff have clear rules for children to follow. They support children to understand and learn them. Children behave well. At group time, staff ask children to recall the rules and sing them. Children join in confidently. However, when children do not behave as staff expect, the approaches staff use with them to address behaviours are not yet consistent. For example, some staff ask children to 'stop', without explaining to children what they would like them to do to modify their behaviour.
• Since being appointed, the manager has developed strong relationships with other professionals, the local school and other charities. These enable the manager to access funding to provide children with experiences they may not have elsewhere. For example, staff plan trips to farms to enhance children's understanding of the world and to learn about different animals.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff's skills so that they consistently support children to learn beyond what they already know
• develop consistent approaches for managing children's behaviours to support them to understand what is expected of them.