Orton Longueville Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children attending this fun and exciting pre-school receive the very best start to their education. Staff here offer a highly inclusive experience. Children are confident and resilient. They learn techniques that help them to understand and regulate their emotions in different situations. A newly introduced children's committee allows children to vote on what they would like in their play environment, such as the theme of the role-play area. Children demonstrate excellent skills in forming close friendships with their peers. For example, children spontaneously praise each other for the pictures they have drawn, helping to build self-esteem and confidence in their friends.

Children happily explore their environment and are fully given the freedom to do so. Children have excellent opportunities to make choices in their play and be creative as sensory opportunities are plentiful. For example, children experiment with mud, sand, glue and water mixed with cornflour, which they make themselves. The fantastic garden space provides children with a range of rich experiences. They cheerfully play in the rain and learn about the effects water has on different materials, such as paper and grass. Children grow their own fruit and vegetables and regularly go for walks in local woods to learn about and explore nature.

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

• The dedicated manager demonstrates a high-quality vision for the ongoing future of the pre-school. She shares this vision with her team, who respect and welcome her new initiatives. Staff morale is very high, and staff work consistently well as a team to do the very best for the children they care for. They feel that their well-being is given careful consideration and they are very well supported in their roles.
• Children are consistently supported to be independent in their self-care and make their own choices in their play. They confidently dress themselves for outdoor play, putting on their coats and wellington boots for fun in the rain. Children enjoy being special helper of the day where, as part of their role, they get to choose a floor activity. This helps to boost children's confidence and self-esteem.
• Staff provide excellent support for children to help them become confident in their communication and language. They engage children in rich conversations as they play. Children are confident to ask questions and are consistently encouraged to think and find solutions themselves. Small, focused communication activity groups help quieter and less confident children find their voice and develop their language skills. Songs and reading stories happen every day, often initiated by the children.
• Staff have high expectations for all children to achieve the very best that they can. Staff consistently build on what children know and can do. They offer a range of different experiences inside and out that excite and motivate children to learn. There is a very strong appreciation for children's individual personalities and their approach to learning. These are carefully considered when planning and delivering activities. For example, a den area is always available for those children, who at times, like a quiet, enclosed space to play in.
• Staff provide highly focused support for those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They quickly recognise where children require additional help in their learning and development, implementing clear, individual targets that will help them to develop and make progress. Staff work diligently with parents and other professionals involved to help children achieve the very best they can.
• Staff value parents' thoughts and opinions. For example, parents are consulted on how to spend any additional funds that will help to improve outcomes for their children. Parents are involved in their children's pre-school life through initiatives, such as home learning books and a book lending library. Parents comment very positively on the improved communication, especially regarding their children's learning since the new manager has been appointed. They feel the pre-school is a wonderful, nurturing environment, where their children are loved and well cared for.