Oatlands Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children settle quickly and feel secure in this caring and friendly environment. They show that they enjoy their time at pre-school. For example, they smile widely, giggle and talk excitedly with staff and other children about their day. Children separate confidently from parents and carers. They show positive attitudes to their learning and make good progress. Staff skilfully organise the environment to match children's interests and promote their eagerness to learn. Children benefit from a good range of experiences that prepare them well for their future success. With the support and encouragement of staff, they wash up plates and cutlery in 'toy' sinks and use scissors to cut out shapes. Older children develop their physical skills well during outside play. For example, children skilfully pedal tricycles, push cars in and out of obstacles and confidently climb around an obstacle course.

Staff are positive role models and reinforce their expectations of children's behaviour well. They use a fair and gentle approach. For example, staff talk to children about how to solve disagreements and explain about emotions. As a result, children are mostly well behaved and follow the pre-school routine. Staff recognise children's efforts and offer lots of praise when they succeed. Children respond to this positive reinforcement well. This helps to boost children's confidence and self-esteem.

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

• Staff strive to create a fully inclusive setting. Children learn about diversity. For example, staff read a range of stories, learn about festivals that are relevant to the children and provide varied resources. Staff work hard to help children celebrate each person's unique qualities through regular discussions while out and about in the community and as they play.
• The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who speak English as an additional language, is a strength of the pre-school. Staff quickly identify children who need additional support. They work effectively with parents and other professionals to put targeted strategies in place, tailored to children's needs and preferences. Staff use key words in children's home languages as they play games and sing songs together. As a result, children feel included and make good progress in their learning and development.
• Children follow daily routines with confidence and show good levels of independence. Young children feed themselves independently. Older children wash their own hands and skilfully open their own lunch boxes. However, sometimes, the organisation of group sessions, such as during mealtimes and carpet times, means that children wait for prolonged periods and become distracted and restless. The result is that some children are not as well behaved and they become overly loud.
• Children develop good communication and language skills. Staff engage in conversation with children as they play, introducing new words to increase their vocabulary. For example, staff introduce the words 'empty' and 'sieve' as children excitedly try to empty and fill containers in the sand tray. However, on occasion, staff do not recognise good opportunities that arise to intervene to extend younger children's thinking skills as they become absorbed in their play.
• Staff provide plenty of exciting opportunities to learn about the community in which they live, and take part in local events such as attending a therapy farm and learning about animals. Children go on trips to local shops and to the post office to post letters. Children learn how to interact with others and develop their social skills in preparation for school.
• Managers evaluate the provision effectively. They carry out supervision sessions with staff and check in on their well-being in regular team meetings. Staff are supported to use resources such as articles and quizzes to support their on-going professional development.
• Partnership with parents is effective. Staff build strong relationships with families and children. Parents appreciate the daily verbal and written feedback about their children's day at the setting, weekly newsletters and the activities given to them to support children's learning at home. Staff work hard to learn about the children and their families when they first start pre-school. For example, they ask parents about children's interests and development and discuss parents' aspirations for children. This promotes a joint approach to children's learning.
• Staff monitor children's progress regularly, which means they address and close any gaps in learning quickly. Recent monitoring found a weakness in older children's social skills after time away from the pre-school due to COVID-19. Staff skilfully led extra group song and game times to further extend children's vocabulary and support the children's social interactions.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to enhance the organisation of larger group activities, to help enrich children's learning opportunities further.
• support staff to identify when opportunities arise to build on younger children's interest in activities to extend their critical thinking skills