Pardes House

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their time at this safe and secure kindergarten. The environment is bright and staff are welcoming. Children arrive ready to have fun and learn. They confidently find their own pegs and hang up their coats in preparation for the day.

Children access a varied and purposeful curriculum that encompasses all areas of development, alongside faith-based learning. A key focus for the kindergarten is to ensure that children gain the skills and knowledge they need to go on to the next phase in their education. All children make good progress from different starting points. Any emerging gaps in children's development are identified and addressed quickly to ensure that children get the support they need. For example, resources to support children's physical development have been acquired to help children build their core strength and coordination skills needed for smaller, more refined movements, such as early writing.

Children generally behave well at the kindergarten. They respond well to praise from the staff. Parents send in notes of what children have achieved at home, and children beam with pride as staff read these out to their classmates. This positive link between kindergarten and home is effective and helps children feel a sense of belonging and continuity while attending.

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

• The curriculum covers all areas of learning. Children are taught respect and tolerance in preparation for life in modern Britain. Staff plan themes that explore other countries, cultures and foods. Staff share books with children that explore similarity and difference, promoting children's understanding of the diverse world around them.
• There is a strong focus on teaching children to be independent. Children take turns to be snack monitors, preparing fruit for others. They enjoy helping staff by cleaning the tables. Children put on their own aprons and learn how to manage their clothing. The youngest children learn about the importance of self-care. They explore glitter 'germs' to understand the importance of handwashing. Toilet training is well supported.
• Opportunities for mathematical development are threaded through all activities. Children learn mathematical language such as 'taller' and 'shorter' when building with large bricks outdoors. Younger children make patterns with pegboards, which supports their mathematical thinking.
• There is strong support for children that need additional help. Staff hold sensitive discussions with parents to share any identified concerns. This enables parents to access any help their children need swiftly. Parents speak warmly about the compassion and care of the staff and are grateful for their advice.
• Overall, staff interact well with children. They ask open questions that support children to use their imagination and think through their ideas. However, some staff are less confident in their interactions with the children and converse less. Children are generally well engaged in meaningful play. They benefit from well-planned and exciting activities, such as making play dough 'vegetables' for 'soup' and digging for real potatoes. However, on occasion, especially during prolonged periods of transition from one activity to another, children can become restless and noise levels rise.
• Children learn to share and take turns. They happily swap instruments to ensure everyone has a go. Staff intervene when children struggle to regulate their behaviour, such as snatching from others. However, staff do not consistently provide clear explanations to help children understand why the behaviour is unwanted.
• Younger children are provided with clear introductions to the planned learning. Staff demonstrate new actions for the children to copy, such as tapping funnels to make the seed pass through into the bird feeders. Staff introduce new words to the children, such as 'vigorously,' to help extend their vocabulary.
• The provision is constantly reviewed. Parents, professionals and colleagues contribute feedback to the kindergarten. A recent addition to the day is woodwork. Children take safe risks using real tools. This is very popular and effective in supporting the implementation of the curriculum in areas such as physical development and expressive art and design.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide explanations to children when they display unwanted behaviour to help them understand the effect of their actions on others
• continue with plans to provide targeted coaching and training so that all staff interactions are of the highest quality and teaching consistently supports the delivery of the curriculum intent.