Mini Adventurers Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children are happy, confident and settled during their time at the inviting and welcoming pre-school. Staff have a good understanding of their chosen curriculum. They implement it successfully to challenge and motivate all children to learn. Staff build on children's interests well. For example, when children have a keen interest in insects, they go on to learn about the life cycle of a caterpillar. Children are excited to watch the butterflies emerge from their chrysalises. Staff teach children facts about different insects. This includes learning about how bumble bees collect nectar and live in hives.

Staff are positive role models. Children are polite and behave well. They remind each other of the rules with good levels of maturity. For instance, they explain to their friends why they must walk when indoors. Staff teach children about the importance of following good hygiene routines. Children are independent at wiping their own nose and explaining why they will wash their hands after doing so. Staff provide all children with opportunities to develop good physical skills. This is demonstrated when children build and negotiate their own obstacles, such as balancing on large bricks. Staff support all children to develop good speaking and listening skills. Children talk about rhythm and are confident to make up and share their stories with confidence.

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

• Management and staff use additional funding to support the individual needs of children well. For example, they purchase a wide range of resources and games to support children to develop their communication skills.
• All staff, including management, establish positive relationships with all children. Staff know children's individual personalities well and understand what makes them unique. This helps staff to plan stimulating activities that they know will keep children engaged in their learning. For example, children are excited to build their own wooden bug hotels, following an engaging bug hunt activity.
• All children, including those who speak English as an additional language, have a positive attitude towards their learning and make good progress. Children engage in their learning, such as being confident to use their imagination as they have a 'picnic' with their friends.
• All staff establish positive partnerships with parents and keep them well informed about their children's time at the pre-school. Staff routinely share photos and videos showing what children have enjoyed doing and their achievements. Staff share children's next steps in their learning and encourage parents to share children's learning from home. Staff also share useful tips with parents, such as how to help teach children the importance of good oral health routines. Parents speak highly of the staff and comment that they feel the level of care and support is 'above and beyond'.
• Management closely monitors the quality of care and teaching that all staff provide children. As a team, they evaluate together and reflect on what went well and what could be enhanced further. They use their findings to support their future performance plans. There is a key focus on support for staff's well-being and staff are happy and feel valued and well supported. Management and staff ensure children are well supervised and deploy themselves well to meet the needs of all individual children.
• Overall, all staff are supported and encouraged to develop their skills and knowledge, particularly in relation to their safeguarding knowledge, which is strong. They have attended some beneficial training to support children's communication skills. However, managers do not focus professional development plans precisely on building and improving staff's skills and knowledge over time to promote ongoing improvement in teaching.
• The setting is diverse and inclusive. For example, children learn about some traditions of other countries, such as Chinese New Year. However, staff do not consistently provide children with more extensive opportunities to learn about other people's similarities and differences. This includes those of the children that attend, such as finding out about their different languages.
• Staff skilfully support children to develop a wide range of skills to prepare them for their future learning. Children are confident to use mathematical language as they play, such as medium, less, heavy, fill and empty. Children learn about other ways to measure, such as using a kitchen timer and a sundial.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on staff's skills and knowledge to continue to enhance the quality of teaching and children's learning opportunities even further
• extend children's knowledge and understanding of other people's similarities and differences.