Nippertime Preschool Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily and are greeted at the door by the manager. They quickly settle into their morning activities, which have been carefully planned to meet their needs. The kind and nurturing staff welcome the children and talk to them about their morning. Children have a well-established routine, which allows them to feel settled and familiar with the structure of their day. They behave very well and have lovely relationships with their friends and staff.

The manager and staff are passionate about providing an exciting and an ambitious curriculum. Children use scissors and play dough to develop their strength in their hands to enable them to use pencils to colour and write. They have different areas, both indoors and outdoors, to explore different areas of learning. For example, children have a role-play corner to play imaginatively and a reading area to share stories in small groups. Staff understand the importance of their role in supporting children's language development. They consistently model how to pronounce new words by using them in sentences. Children learn through songs and rhymes at different points throughout the day. For example, children enjoy singing the 'Five Currant Buns' song to learn about taking away by using real objects from a song sack.

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

• Staff plan children's next steps in their learning through observations and playing with the children. Children take part in small groups to learn new skills. For instance, a group of children learns about counting objects and colours by listening to a staff member and counting coloured cubes. This allows them to watch how the staff member counts carefully and have a try themselves.
• The manager understands the importance of making sure children are ready for their next stage of education. Staff ensure the youngest children settle in well and develop their confidence at the pre-school. The oldest children are well prepared for starting school by developing their independence and completing small tasks for themselves. Children are also taught to recognise their name and how to write the letters that spell it. The manager liaises well with the schools in the local area to ensure that they understand each child individually.
• Parents feel very happy with the care their children receive. They appreciate the caring and gentle approach staff members have and the experience they have in working with children. The leader and manager welcome parents' suggestions and take on board any feedback. The staff send out termly newsletters and regular updates to parents with the topics and activities children will be taking part in.
• Staff plan exciting activities for children to take part in, such as watching experiments and thinking about what will happen next. However, at times, they do not give children the opportunity to practise the skills they learn during planned activities when they are playing freely, to build further on their learning.
• Children's listening and attention are very good and have been taught and developed over time. Staff understand how to capture children's interests and deliver age-appropriate stories and songs that children can take part in. Children take part in group activities with children of their own age and stage of learning. For example, after morning activities, children sing songs to welcome each other in two different groups. This allows the older children to practise their counting skills and count how many children are present.
• The staff understand how children develop physically. Children explore different ways of moving and balancing, both indoors and outdoors. Staff support children to crawl, walk and jump using different equipment and at different levels. For instance, children enjoy stepping across wooden equipment and exploring different ways of balancing. Staff support the younger children by gently encouraging them to move slowly and the older children by adding challenges.
• Children with English as an additional language have the opportunity to use both their languages, and other children enjoy hearing and learning new words. The manager uses the calendar to teach children about celebrations around the world and learn about other cultures.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to extend opportunities for children to independently practise skills they have learned from planned activities.