Our Lady of Pity Pre-School CIC

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this happy and nurturing setting. They are warmly welcomed by the friendly, caring staff, who take the time to speak with every parent and child as they arrive at the school gate. Children demonstrate a close and secure attachment with each staff member. They settle with ease and feel safe and secure. Each key person spends quality time getting to know children and their families in order to meticulously plan an ambitious curriculum. Children have opportunities to watch life cycles. They observe the seasonal changes and study creatures, such as tadpoles and caterpillars. They talk knowledgeably about how many legs caterpillars have and what they need to eat to change into a chrysalis. This fosters children's natural curiosity about the world around them. Every achievement is celebrated and, consequently, children are confident learners who embrace new skills.

Children demonstrate great kindness and are confident in managing minor conflicts themselves. They learn to identify and talk about their different emotions. They use their superb language skills to share ideas while working together to complete their chosen challenges, such as building a bridge with bricks. Through skilful questioning, staff encourage children to solve problems for themselves. They confidently demonstrate their understanding of why 'golden rules' are in place and recognise the impact that their behaviour has on others. Children are respectful to each other, staff and visitors.

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

• The manager and staff excel at supporting children's communication and language development. They create a language-rich environment and have devised a curriculum with diverse activities to help children learn and communicate effectively. Staff model sophisticated word use to promote vocabulary growth, such as 'overcast' to describe the weather. Children are confident communicators. When playing imaginatively with dough and foam, children talk about using the 'marvellous red dough' and how they 'gargle' during tooth brushing times.
• Staff promote children's literacy skills effectively. Staff recognise the benefit of sharing children's love of books with families. The well-used lending library encourages children to choose books to take home and share with their families. Children also engage in turn taking and social interaction during these activities to further enhance their communication skills. The excellent teaching supports older children to be confident communicators and ready for the next stage of their education. Additionally, staff teach children sign language and introduce new vocabulary through fun songs to build their confidence and encourage communication and interaction with peers.
• The promotion of living healthy lifestyles is exceptional. Children indulge in daily physical activity. They seek adventures in the wonderful outside learning space. Three- and four-year-old children quickly become engaged in learning. They show lots of curiosity when planting out the seedlings they have been growing. Children have a wealth of opportunities to develop both their large and smaller muscle groups, preparing them for later learning, such as writing. Staff recognise the children who prefer to learn outdoors and use these opportunities to engage them in meaningful tasks, such as caring for the chickens. Children have an excellent understanding of the world around them.
• All children in the nursery, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language, make excellent progress. Staff are highly attuned to children's needs. They quickly put interventions in place, including using national programmes and signing, to help individual children's learning needs. Staff use additional funding successfully. Managers carefully consider how funding can be used to give children the best opportunities.
• The staff are exceptional practitioners, who hold themselves to extremely high expectations throughout the provision. The manager provides excellent support to the staff, enabling them to reflect on and evaluate their teaching and interactions with children and families. Many of the children move on to the host school. Children meet the Reception teacher and regularly access shared spaces. As a result, children's transitions to school are seamless.
• Staff are fully aware of children's interests and use these to promote learning across different areas. Children are currently interested in different occupations, such as police and firefighters. Staff invite the local fire brigade and mounted police to visit the pre-school. Children gain an understanding of the vital roles community helpers play. This approach fosters a sense of appreciation for their community and instils values of gratitude and respect in children.
• Partnerships with parents are excellent. Parents enthusiastically share their views about the provision. They comment that after visiting a number of pre-schools, this one stood out a mile and the 'outdoor activities are fantastic'. They appreciate the way that staff support children's independence. Parents identify how quickly their children settled in. They are extremely happy with the quality of care and education provided.