Oldfield Pre-school

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children confidently separate from their parents on arrival. They are welcomed at the door by happy and enthusiastic staff. Children settle well and are eager to see what exciting things are planned. This helps support children to feel safe, secure and self-assured.

Clear and consistent systems are in place to help support children's behaviour. For instance, visual timers are placed in areas for children to access, resulting in them waiting patiently for their turn. Staff are good role models. They have a calming and gentle tone and demonstrate a loving and caring nature towards children. In turn, children play well together, seek out their special friends and thrive from positive and friendly interactions. Children's behaviour is good.

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at the pre-school and benefit from a wide range of stimulating activities that cover all the areas of learning. For example, children show great delight and concentration as they take part in creative activities. Staff are close by to provide ideas and offer suggestions as they support children in grasping new concepts and mastering new skills, such as using scissors and identifying the letters in their name. Staff provide lots of praise and encouragement to children. As a result, children have positive attitudes to learning.

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

• On the day of inspection, it was found that the provider had not informed Ofsted of significant events which is a requirement of their registration. However, this does not have any impact on children's safety or well-being. During the inspection, the acting manager and committee members displayed a positive attitude and were very proactive in taking immediate steps to rectify the issues.
• The acting manager is supported well by the committee and together they meet regularly to discuss future developments for the pre-school. The staff team evaluate and reflect on its daily practice and hold regular meetings to share ideas. Staff supervision meetings are carried out to help ensure that all staff feel supported. Staff discuss their successes and help to plan their future professional development needs. Precise targets are set and carefully monitored for each member of staff. This helps staff to continue to deliver a high level of quality of care and learning for all children.
• Overall, staff prepare children well for their future learning. Children follow routines well, listen to instructions and are given independent choices of what they would like to access throughout the day. However, at times, children are not always given the opportunities to extend their independence to build on their self-care needs. This is because occasionally, some staff carry out these tasks for them, such as zipping up children's coats, wiping their noses and serving them drinks.
• The curriculum is ambitious and sharply focused on children developing skills that will support them in readiness for school. Staff know what children can already do and provide appropriate activities that will capture their interests and support them in what they need to learn next. As a result, all children are making good progress, including children who have identified gaps in certain areas of their learning.
• Children's physical development skills are supported well. For example, they use their arms to hold on to hoops and run and swing their bodies in the air. Children show great concentration as they steer and ride bikes. This contributes to children being active and helps increase their spatial awareness and coordination.
• Children sing along to songs and rhymes. They seek out staff and invite them to read stories and talk about what they can see in pictures. Staff use a range of opportunities to extend children's understanding and vocabulary. For example, they introduce new descriptive words, such as 'investigation' and 'reflective' paper as children search for different materials to use on their creations. As a result, children's communication and language skills are supported well and they are becoming confident communicators.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents complete regular questionnaires to capture their views. They speak positively about the progress that their children have made and appreciate the suggestions that are given in order for them to extend their children's learning further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to consistently promote children's independence skills, to encourage them to carry out self-care tasks for themselves.