Paint Pots Preschool & Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily and separate from their parents with ease. Staff plan a broad curriculum that builds on children's interests and developmental needs. For example, when younger children find worms in the garden, staff support them to gently handle them. Staff encourage children's counting skills as they talk about how many worms the children have found.

Younger toddlers enjoy song-time activities. They wave their ribbons and jiggle their bodies to the music. This helps to encourage their language skills and physical development. Children explore the adjoining outside balcony freely. Toddlers access fresh air and develop their large motor skills as they ride the trikes and push the wheeled toys. Older children have many opportunities to develop their physical skills in the large garden area. They venture up the climbing net and confidently navigate the path on their bikes.

Children show sensitivity towards their friends, giving them hugs when they look sad. Staff encourage children to talk about their feelings in small focus group activities. This helps to support children's emotional well-being and sense of security.

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. On occasions, when children struggle to share, staff sensitively step in to support them in their play. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points.

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

• The provider has effective oversight of the day to day management and has a clear vision for the nursery. The manager feels supported in their role and nursery staff report their well-being is good. Recent wooden gazebos in the garden have further enhanced this area. They provide shelter for the children throughout the year and cosy areas for story times.
• Overall, staff deployment is effective. Staff engage with children during their play, and routine activities build on what they want children to learn next. However, staff deployment within the baby room is not always consistent. Children, on occasion, receive less support from staff who know them well enough to extend their learning.
• Staff gain detailed information from parents prior to their children starting. This helps them to create a starting point for the children's developmental next steps. Staff keep parents informed of their children's progress through the online learning platform, which they encourage parents to contribute to. Parents report they are happy with the care the staff provide for their children. They comment that they receive good, informative handovers and know what their children are doing at nursery.
• Staff promote children's personal hygiene well throughout the nursery. They encourage children to wash their hands before meals and after using the toilet. Staff apply sun cream to the children. They explain the importance of this, to help protect them in the warm weather. Key persons know their children well. They talk about how they support children in their development and the progress they have made since starting at the nursery.
• Staff provide a range of activities for the children based on what they know and can do. They are good role models, and demonstrate the action they want the children to do. For example, they encourage children to feel feathers and then to blow them from their hands. However, on occasion, when they ask questions, they do not always allow children sufficient time to respond.
• Children show perseverance in their play. For example, children sit in a large play truck in the garden. They cannot initially get it to go up the hill, so two children get out and push it until it moves, with the other children inside. Children work collaboratively together to achieve what they want to do. They smile with a sense of achievement once they accomplish the task and then repeat it all over again.
• Children enjoy listening to stories and show an interest in the life cycle of a butterfly. They ask questions to find out more and staff answer these, imparting additional knowledge. This encourages communication skills and helps children to learn about the world around them.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the deployment of staff, particularly in the baby room, to provide consistent and purposeful interactions for children
• develop staff knowledge of questioning skills to allow children time to answer questions and think for themselves.