MMI Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy in this inclusive and nurturing environment. They form secure emotional attachments with staff, who are very attentive to their needs. Staff implement a stimulating curriculum that encompasses the seven areas of learning and Montessori principles. This supports children to be highly motivated and engaged in their play and learning. Babies and older children enjoy messy and sensory play tremendously. Staff encourage babies to use their hands to explore cooked pasta and lentils and create marks with jumbo paint markers. Older children concentrate as they use their fine motor skills with tools to manipulate and make prints in dough. All of these activities help to strengthen skills in preparation for early writing.

Staff are skilled in promoting children's language and communication development. They use a range of strategies, including providing a running commentary as babies play. Staff plan interesting activities, such as a game to find out what is in a bag, to help toddlers to identify objects and describe what they are used for. Staff extend older children's vocabulary during a colour-mixing activity. As children learn how to create a range of colours, staff introduce them to new words and their meaning, such as 'transparent' and 'pipettes'. As a result, all children become confident and skilful communicators. Staff have high expectations for all children. They teach and encourage children from an early age to say 'please' and 'thank you', share and take turns. Children's behaviour is good.

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

• Staff promote children's love of books well. Children have access to comfy book areas in all rooms. Staff implement regular story times and a monthly book loan system. This allows parents to enjoy story times at home to further promote their children's love of literature.
• Staff introduce and promote mathematical concepts and language throughout the day. For instance, children in the pre-school room access large number cards. They learn how to identify numbers in tens, one hundred and one thousand. Younger children learn early subtraction as they work out how many monkeys are jumping on the bed when singing the song. Staff discuss the dangers of jumping on the bed and children suggest jumping on a trampoline would be better.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. The manager uses funding for individual children's needs. For instance, additional staff have been employed to provide one-to-one support for children. Staff have purchased resources to further children's learning opportunities. This helps children to access the full curriculum and promotes positive outcomes for them.
• Staff accurately monitor the progress of their key children to ensure that they make good progress in their development. They swiftly identify gaps in children's learning, and recognise and plan for their next steps in learning.
• Children have good opportunities to learn about how things grow. For instance, they have planted onions, strawberries, mint and lavender in the garden. They visit the local market to observe the various fruits and vegetables. However, staff do not reinforce children's knowledge of healthy lifestyles, especially at mealtimes. For example, they do not discuss the nutritional value of the meals with children and support them to learn about the impact it has on their bodies.
• Children in all areas are encouraged to be independent learners and to manage their own personal care needs. Older children put on their raincoats in the garden and self-serve their own meals. Younger children take on roles at lunchtime and support staff to hand out meals to their friends. All children take part in effective hygiene routines, such as washing their hands before meals and brushing their teeth after lunch.
• Partnerships with parents and outside professionals are good. A number of professionals come into the setting to observe and support children who staff have identified need additional support. Staff regularly update parents of their children's development and progress through discussions, parents' meetings and online systems. Parents speak highly about the professional, friendly staff. They can see the progress their children are making, especially in their language, independence and social skills. Staff support parents to understand how they can further help their child to develop their learning at home.
• The manager highly values staff's professional development to continuously improve the quality of the setting and the services available to children and their families. However, some areas of the curriculum are not implemented fully effectively to extend pre-school children's learning even further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• encourage staff to extend children's understanding of healthy eating and why it is important for their bodies
• implement the curriculum even more precisely to ensure that staff are extending pre-school children's learning in all areas.