Oxted Pre-school Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the setting eager to be inside and begin their play and learning day. Those who need a little more support to settle receive this without question from the nurturing staff, enabling all children to feel reassured and secure. Children access the calming tent area when they recognise they need time to regulate their feelings. This is successful in supporting children to return to their play when they are ready and, therefore, receptive to learning. Children clearly understand the routines of their day at pre-school. They learn to serve themselves at snack time and then wash up their own cup and plate. They show that these are skills that have been learned through effective teaching and role modelling.

Children demonstrate good physical skills and understanding of taking risks in safe surroundings. For example, they relish the opportunity to climb the low-level trees and to hang from a branch. This helps children to learn to assess risks in their play and to understand their safety needs and those of others. Children learn about mathematical concepts during their play. For example, they build walls and towers from the foam bricks. Staff introduce new language consistently and encourage children to think about how tall their tower is and to compare it to the children's own height. This builds on children's communication and language development effectively. Children become fully engrossed in their creative play, painting their arms as well as the paper. Staff embrace this opportunity to help children to print their arm onto the paper. This enables children to feel that staff value their creativity, breeding a sense of belonging and achievement.

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

• Leaders fully recognise the individual needs of children and how they can continually evaluate and improve their practice and the environment for children. Leaders and staff are reflective and review aspects for change, such as the availability of climbing equipment to support children's physical development.
• There is a clear plan for the curriculum that encompasses the focus for the learning environment across the areas of learning. Staff implement the overall curriculum successfully and plan the activities and experiences they offer dependant on children's interests and needs.
• Staff have a secure understanding of children's personalities and family structure, which they use in conversations with them. This helps them to recall information. However, staff do not explore further ways they can embrace children's heritages and cultures to build on their awareness of similarities and differences.
• Staff develop and maintain effective communication and partnerships with parents. They exchange information regularly, such as through sharing of development information at parents' evenings. Parents report positively about their children's experiences at the setting and of the clear developmental progress they make. For instance, they comment about their children's skills in sharing and making good friendship groups.
• Key persons have a clear understanding of the developmental stages of their key children. However, staff are not always fully aware of the plan for what children need to learn next if they are not in their key group. This means that they do not always make the best of each interaction with children.
• Staff ensure that children have consistent access to books and stories. Children enjoy the closeness with staff, such as when they look at and read books together in the garden. Staff are particularly supportive of children who are new to the setting, helping them to build secure bonds with staff while enhancing their early literacy skills.
• The provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is effective in ensuring that children receive the care and education they need. There is clear and successful liaison with other professionals. This enables all children to make the progress they are capable of.
• Leaders have a secure understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Along with the committee members, they follow safer recruitment practices to make sure that staff are and continue to be suitable to work with children.
• Leaders offer support to staff through their induction and ongoing individual meetings. They facilitate training opportunities to build on staff knowledge. There is a clear family ethos to the setting, supporting staff's morale and well-being.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen how staff celebrate and embrace children's cultures and heritages to further increase their understanding of similarities and differences
• enhance staff's knowledge of what each child needs to learn next to strengthen their interactions with children.