Newsome Pre-School Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, confident and settled. They have secure attachments to staff and are aware of the daily routines. On arrival, children hang up their coats and find their names on the board. They then place their name card in the 'emotions bag' that represents how they are feeling. Children are eager to join in with activities. They enjoy their learning and have fun in the accessible, safe and secure environment. All children behave well and play collaboratively during many activities.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of children have continued to attend. Staff supported families when children did not attend. For example, they shared activity ideas and videos of the pre-school through their social networking website. Staff also discussed managing children's potential anxieties on their return.

Staff plan a broad range of activities that engage and motivate children and prepare them for starting school. For example, children develop good physical skills which are essential for early writing. Younger children delight in hanging bangles on the branches of a miniature tree. They use large swirling movements to make marks with paint using brushes on a large piece of cloth. Older children are starting to write letters and they competently balance on planks.

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

• Staff promote children's communication well, to help to support their future reading skills. They model language when children play, link activities to stories and explain the meaning of unfamiliar words. Children listen to staff's exciting storytelling. They join in with song books, imitate actions and guess what comes next.
• Overall, staff demonstrate effective teaching. For example, as children roll conkers down plastic guttering, staff ignite their thinking skills. They ask children to predict what might happen if they raise the guttering, and children discover that the conkers roll down faster. However, staff do not consistently enable children to explore their own ideas and interests freely during some adult-directed art and craft activities.
• The manager undertakes home visits, for instance to support new starters. She finds out about children's uniqueness and individual needs. Parents receive an extensive welcome pack that informs them about the pre-school. This includes information on how they can jointly help children to lead healthy lifestyles.
• Staff assess children's progress continuously, to plan for what they need to learn next. They swiftly identify and support children who are not working at expected levels. All children make good progress. This includes children with additional needs, children who speak English as an additional language and children in receipt of additional funding.
• Staff encourage children to develop great independence. For example, children pour drinks, spread toppings on their toast and clear away their utensils. Children can also move freely between indoors and outdoors. However, staff do not always recognise when the newer younger children may need greater support.
• Children respond well to staff's instructions, such as helping to tidy up. They are very sociable as they talk about the healthy food items in their lunch boxes. Children delight in looking at photos together and recalling past learning with staff. Older children are kind and caring. They hold younger children's hands to help them walk down the plank, for instance.
• The manager and staff review practice together to identify areas for development, such as resuming the lending library that ceased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The manager monitors staff's practice and identifies further training opportunities. These are precisely targeted to the needs of the children attending.
• Children play together imaginatively. They mix soil, leaves and twigs in the exploratory kitchen. Older children explain that they are making 'strawberry cupcakes', which they skilfully count.
• Staff help children to learn to keep themselves safe and healthy. Older children readily use hand gel. Children using climbing apparatus hold on carefully with a gentle reminder from staff. Staff use books and role play, for instance, to talk about oral hygiene.
• Parents receive extensive information through the pre-school's social media website. Staff share children's progress summaries with parents. However, there is scope to develop ongoing communication, specifically between staff and their key children's parents.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance teaching during adult-planned art and craft activities, to enable children to fully explore their own ideas and interests consistently
• strengthen ongoing communication between parents and their child's key person, to optimise children's care and learning
• provide greater levels of support for younger children, especially those who are new to the pre-school.