MW and H Ltd t/a Bluebell Pre-school

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff offer children a warm welcome into this nurturing and caring pre-school. Children are happy and settle well. New children receive close and sensitive support from their key person to help them to feel safe and secure. Leaders offer home visits to new children. This enables them to start building relationships and gather information about children's home lives. They use this information well to precisely plan and implement what children need to learn next, enabling all children to make good progress.

Children benefit from outings in the community, such as walks to the 'wooden wonderland', where they learn about environmental changes and increase their awareness of the wider world. Staff support children to be independent individuals. Children change into their wellington boots before playing outdoors and are beginning to manage their own personal needs. They use small tools to peel and cut fruit and vegetables. Staff encourage children to taste these and introduce them to words such as 'citrus' and 'sour' as they suck the juice from a lemon. Children are imaginative. They pretend to make soup in the mud kitchen. Staff model expected behaviour. They regularly talk to children about how they are feeling and build on their emotional literacy. Children take turns to fulfil the role of special helper of the day. This helps to increase their self-esteem and respect for others as they complete appropriate responsibilities.

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

• Leaders and the staff team have a clear intent for the ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum that is tailored to reflect the needs of each child. Staff know the children very well. They make the best possible use of children's experiences out of the pre-school to help extend and embed new knowledge. Regular assessments and observations ensure that children's progress is stringently monitored.
• Children with special educational needs/and or disabilities make good progress from their starting points. Staff form strong partnerships with other professionals and use strategies such as a visual routine and language boards to support children's understanding and enable them to express their needs. Any additional funding the pre-school receives is used to support children's individual needs.
• Children have plenty of opportunities to lead their own play. Alongside this, staff plan a range of focused adult-led activities. Overall, they use these well to help children to learn and remember more. However, at times, staff to not adapt their teaching to meet the individual needs of children, some of whom find it difficult to remain engaged and fully participate. Leaders have not considered incorporating this teaching within children's play to fully focus their attention and engagement.
• Relationships with parents are strong. They have many opportunities to engage with the pre-school and share experiences with other parents at organised coffee mornings. Staff keep parents fully informed of their child's achievements using a range of methods to ensure they reach every parent. They also provide ideas to aid learning at home. Parents comment how they and their children have built fantastic relationships with the whole staff team. They value how staff show a genuine interest in and understand changes in children's lives, while providing a warm, loving environment where children are excited to attend.
• Staff plan activities that support children's inquisitive minds. For example, they introduce children to mathematical concepts such as weight and quantities. Children handle a range of different objects and decide if they feel heavy or light. They predict which objects will sink to the bottom of a large, clear container filled with water. However, in other activities, staff do not always provide children with enough time to solve problems themselves.
• Staff support children to be respectful individuals. They calmly remind children of the setting's golden rules and actively help them to build friendships, such as encouraging them to hold hands during the actions to a familiar song.
• Children enjoy the freedom to choose when they would like to play outdoors. They negotiate large apparatus during regular visits to the local park. Children acquire essential core strength to develop good balance, posture and coordination throughout their play.
• Leaders work closely with staff to support their ongoing professional development. They frequently observe staff practice and swiftly identify any areas for improvement and provide guidance when needed. All staff have good opportunities to complete training. New knowledge and skills are shared with the whole team to ensure a consistent approach. Recent training has enhanced staff knowledge of how to increase children's confidence.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the organisation of adult-led group activities to fully support children's participation
• allow children more time to think and develop their problem-solving skills.