Openwoodgate Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are eager to enter the pre-school and start their day. Staff happily greet families at the door and invite children to come and play. Children excitedly run into the pre-school, pleased to see their friends and staff. During circle time, staff introduce the available activities to children. This helps children to feel secure to make choices and access the activities comfortably and confidently throughout the day.

Staff support children to build on their existing knowledge. They read a familiar story about a little sunflower and discuss how to plant and care for sunflower seeds. Staff extend the activity by providing children with the opportunity to plant their own seeds. Children use their physical skills as they kneel and fill their plant pots with soil. Staff provide children with clear and simple instructions to help them to understand how to plant their seed in the soil. For example, staff tell children to make the seed cosy. Children pat down the soil on top of the seed and smile, proud of their achievement. Staff help children to recall previous events. They talk about children's home experiences of planting sunflower seeds that the staff provided for them to take home to grow.

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

• The manager and staff create a well-planned curriculum that is based on children's individual needs and abilities. They effectively incorporate children's interests to help engage children in play and learning. For example, children enjoy building with wooden bricks and shapes. Staff use this interest to support children's mathematical development and knowledge of shapes. They encourage children to consider how to make a circle. Older children enthusiastically tell staff that they need two semi-circles to make a circle.
• Children's growing independence is supported well by staff. For instance, during snack time, staff closely supervise children as they use knives to spread their choice of topping on their crackers. Children confidently pour their own drinks and use a spoon to serve themselves a portion of raisins.
• Staff work closely with parents and other settings that children attend. They regularly share information about what children know and can do and their next steps in development. This helps children to benefit from a consistent approach to their care and learning.
• Parents speak fondly of the pre-school and staff. They say that they do not want their children to ever leave. Parents appreciate the additional help that staff provide. For example, staff share strategies with parents and signpost them to other professionals. This helps parents to support children's learning and development at home.
• Staff provide children with many opportunities to lead a healthy lifestyle. For instance, they encourage children to regularly wash their hands, and provide nutritious meals and snacks. However, staff do not always support children's understanding of why a healthy lifestyle is important. For example, they do not make the most of handwashing routines and mealtimes to explain to children how this keeps them safe and healthy.
• Overall, children behave well. Staff use praise and acknowledge children's positive behaviour by presenting them with an award to display on the 'kind hands tree'. For example, staff award children for being thoughtful and helping others. Nevertheless, when children experience conflict or struggle to regulate their behaviour, staff do not always help them to recognise or understand their own and other people's feelings and emotions.
• The committee, manager, and staff team work together well. Committee members have clear roles and responsibilities, which supports the effective running of the pre-school. The manager has systems in place to support staff and help them to continually develop their knowledge and practice. For example, staff access training on the use of assessment tools. This helps staff to identify where children may need targeted support to help them to make progress in their physical, communication and language development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to strengthen children's understanding of how and why it is important to lead a healthy lifestyle
• support children's emotional development to help them to identify and understand feelings and emotions.