Oldfield Park Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive eager to start playing in the warm and nurturing environment. They are very independent and settle quickly into the familiar routine. Children show care and consideration as they happily play with their friends. They show high levels of confidence and self-esteem. Staff know the children and their families exceptionally well. Children have developed strong attachments with their key person.

Staff are very passionate about their roles and being a vital part of children's early years. They are excellent role models and engage with children at all times. Their passion for teaching children is at the heart of their practice. Staff constantly reflect on the quality of their provision and make ongoing improvements. These include providing opportunities to widen children's experiences, such as growing their own fruits and vegetables, or watching a show at the local theatre. Children proudly show strawberries and pea pods from their new planting area. They discuss how eating vegetables and fruit is good for their bodies. This also supports children in understanding the importance of healthy eating.

Children demonstrate positive attitudes towards their learning. They eagerly join in with planning their next learning activities with each other. They show respect as they listen to each other's ideas and views, for instance as they create a list of resources to make fruit salad. Children also enjoy books, stories and songs throughout the day. Staff read a wide range of books to the children with expression. Children listen attentively and show their love of books. They confidently say that 'books are their favourite' at pre-school. Children show delight with the staff as they excitedly join in with action songs and rhymes. This also supports their emerging language skills.

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

• Partnership with parents is a key strength of the pre-school. Parents speak highly of how well the staff know their children and how they blossom in their care. Parents feel extremely well informed and included in their children's learning. They speak highly of the benefits that the play sessions at the pre-school provide for them. For instance, parents talked passionately about a recent bird feeder session they attended which helped them understand how play supports their children's learning and enabled them to meet other families.
• Staff engage in lots of dialogue with children, including familiar words that children who speak English as an additional language might hear at home. Overall, staff support children's language development well. They use a variety of strategies to spark conversations. For example, a picture of the Queen and Paddington Bear on the snack table opened up a discussion about the Queen's
• Jubilee. The introduction of hot and cold water as children splashed in different trays provided the opportunity to talk about comparisons. Yet, on occasion, staff ask too many questions and do not give children time to think and respond. This does not allow children the opportunity to develop problem-solving for themselves.
• Staff say that they are very well supported and feel part of a friendly team. They have regular meetings and supervisions that support their well-being and professional development. Together, they highlight areas of development and either access online or in-house training. Staff discuss how they can use recent training to make the pre-school inclusive for all children, for example by further developing children's emotional well-being with 'sunshine circles' and visual cards.
• Staff plan a curriculum that incorporates children's interests and imaginations. They play alongside the children and share their love for learning through play. For example, during water play, staff share children's interest in water and taps as they show a sense of achievement and delight together blowing bubbles. They speak excitedly about how the children created potions that made staff invisible. Yet staff do not plan specific activities around children's individual needs and abilities. This does not support children to build on what they already know for future learning skills to achieve more.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are very well supported. Early intervention is quickly identified and discussed with parents. The special educational needs coordinator is proactive in getting professionals on board. Staff also introduce a wide range of strategies. For instance, they use the 'attention bucket' to help children take turns. They ensure that children get the help and support they need. This approach helps to prevent gaps in learning from widening. Children in receipt of additional funding are also supported well. Staff use funds to buy specific resources or for children to attend extra sessions. This helps children acquire the skills they need for future learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enable children to have sufficient time to reflect on the question asked and respond independently to enhance their cognitive, communication and language skills
• develop your planning further to allow for a specific focus on children's next steps in their learning to help them achieve more.