Mini Gems Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children eagerly arrive at the pre-school and demonstrate that they feel safe, happy and emotionally secure. They form close bonds with all staff, including their key person, and make friends with peers. Children are enthusiastic learners and become quickly absorbed in their play. They show good levels of focus and concentration as they take part in planned activities. Children interact with staff, enthusiastically telling them what they are doing. They are well behaved for their stage of development and have a good attitude to their learning. Children share well with each other and take turns in their play. For example, when children play in the sand, they share a big spade and take turns to fill the buckets.

Children develop their independence as they carry out small tasks and enjoy being the 'helper' at mealtimes. Children's capabilities are understood by staff, who know them well. They are well prepared for the next stage in their education. The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a strong feature in the pre-school. Staff skilfully support children's language development. The manager has high expectations for all children to do well, and this is shared by staff working with the children. Children enjoy listening to stories and sing songs throughout the day to develop their language skills.

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

• Staff support children with SEND effectively. They work closely with children's families and other professionals. Staff set achievable targets to promote children's ongoing care and to help them make progress in their development. Staff work well with children, offering sensitive interventions when needed.
• As children play, staff support their learning well. Staff know children well, and understand their developmental needs and interests. However, those children that attend all day are sometimes limited in the choices they have during their play. Therefore, on occasions, children become distracted and lose interest in the activities on offer.
• Children, including those who speak English as an additional language, have many opportunities to develop their communication skills. Staff enable children to hear and repeat words, such as 'oily' and 'silky' as they describe the texture once the wet ingredients are added when making play dough. Staff model language very well to children.
• Staff encourage all children to have a positive attitude towards their learning. Children move around freely and join in with their preferred activities. For example, they explore the different sounds that the musical instruments make and they concentrate hard to copy the musical patterns that staff make. Staff talk to children about what they are doing and how they can change sounds from quiet to loud.
• The manager and staff form successful partnerships with parents. Staff continually share information about children's activities and progress. Parents are complimentary about the pre-school. They feel that staff are available to support them, particularly with ideas to use at home. For example, staff share advice on how to help children's speech, suggest books to read or give help with potty training. Although parents and staff work together to enhance children's development, staff do not collect ideas from parents to enable them to work together to develop the pre-school further.
• The curriculum is well designed to meet the emerging needs of the children attending. The manager considers the sequence in which children are taught the skills they will need to make good progress. A programme of training supports staff to deliver good-quality teaching effectively.
• Staff promote children's early literacy and mathematical skills. They teach children to identify numerals and to use mathematical language when they play. Staff encourage children's participation during story times and help them to learn to recognise their names as they self-register each morning.
• Staff promote daily routines to support children's understanding of healthy lifestyles. For example, children know the importance of washing their hands to reduce the spread of germs. They understand the need to cover their mouths and use tissues. Children eat healthy snacks and lunches, and enjoy physical exercise.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• organise activities to support those children attending all day to have more choices as they play and learn
• provide wider opportunities for parents to contribute to identifying areas of development for the setting to improve further.