Our Ladys Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children clearly show that they feel happy and safe at the setting. When they arrive, they rush inside to greet their friends. Children benefit from knowing what to do as there are clear routines in place. They are encouraged by staff to be independent. Children take off their outdoor shoes and put their slippers on, before putting their lunch boxes away. At snack time, they confidently pour milk into cups and use tongs to serve themselves pieces of fruit.

Children behave very well. They listen carefully to the consistently high expectations from staff throughout the day. For example, staff remind children to fetch an apron before playing in the mud kitchen. When minor disagreements occur between children, staff remind them to have kind hands and feet. Staff model to children how to share, and praise them when they later do this without being prompted.

Children find out all about how to be healthy. They brush large-scale models of teeth and tell visitors how they need toothpaste on a toothbrush to make sure the teeth are clean. Children explore different healthy foods such as aubergines and mushrooms in the role play kitchen. Staff provide them with opportunities to experience foods they may not have seen at home.

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

• Staff communicate effectively as a team. Despite recent changes, staff work very well together. They tell each other when they are going to a different part of the setting, which ensures that children are always supervised closely by an appropriate number of staff. Staff have regular appraisals where they discuss with the management team what they would like to do to develop their practice further. Opportunities to access further training happen regularly to allow staff to develop their skills.
• Parents confirm their children enjoy coming to the setting. They state staff generally add photographs of activities onto an online journal so they can see what children have been doing. However, parents feel less well informed about their children's learning and development. Parents say they are not always informed about how they can support their own child's learning further at home.
• Relationships between staff and children are very strong. Throughout the day, children invite staff to join in with their play. For example, children spend sustained periods of time making potions outside. They tell staff about the herbs from the garden they have added. Staff are skilled at extending children's learning through their interactions. For example, when children notice the shadows on the ground their body makes, staff support them to draw around these with chalk to observe how the shadows move as they move their body.
• Staff provide opportunities for children to find out about the world around them. For example, when children notice a truck collecting recycling, staff provide them with toy trucks and talk about how different materials can be recycled. Staff incorporate a relevant book into the activity so children can develop their knowledge even further. This extends children's learning through their interests and widens their experiences.
• Generally, staff support children to develop their communication and language skills well. They introduce new vocabulary throughout the day. For example, when children find a bumblebee, staff explain how the wings are 'transparent'. They talk to children about what this word means. However, occasionally, children who are learning English as an additional language are not supported as well to develop their speaking skills. Sometimes, staff repeat back to children when they speak in two- or three-word phrases, instead of extending the sentences to help expand their vocabulary even further.
• Throughout the day, staff are skilled at incorporating mathematical language into children's play. For example, staff talk to children about the different sizes of containers they are using to make potions. They introduce language such as small, medium and big. Children start to use this themselves in their play.
• Managers are mostly clear about what they need to notify Ofsted of. However, they do not always complete documentation that provides Ofsted with information about new committee members. However, there is no risk to children's safety as the committee member is not involved in the day-to-day running of the pre-school or with recruitment of new staff.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide parents with more information about their individual children's learning and share ideas how on they can offer further support at home
• develop staff's understanding of how to support children who are learning English as an additional language.