Park Lane Pre - School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this pre-school, supported by caring and knowledgeable staff. New starters quickly settle and are soon engaged in one of the interesting activities available. The attentive staff help children to follow the pre-school's routines by modelling how to return items to their rightful place once they have finished playing with them.

The quality of education is good and children's learning progresses well. Staff are knowledgeable about children's developmental milestones, and delays are identified early. Overall, they work well with other professionals to implement plans that provide independent and targeted support. In particular, in the area of communication and language, children's progress is excellent. The staff create an environment that is purposeful and rich in print and pictures. Additional funding is spent on purchasing resources for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, such as a sensory bubble tower. Different cultures are well represented across the pre-school through the inclusion of resources, images and dual-language books.

Staff communicate well with the children, and make their expectations clear about what behaviour is and is not acceptable. Children learn how to follow instructions and make positive behavioural choices. Independence is encouraged from the moment children join. Staff give praise and consistent support to children in a positive way. For example, they offer a more acceptable alternative when a child wants to cut the hair of a doll.

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

• Leaders and staff are committed to providing high-quality care and early years education to children and their families. They access a wide range of training courses to further their own development and work effectively as a team. Children's development is tracked well, and legislative reports are completed by each key person. Staff turnover is low. This provides stability for children and parents, resulting in a calm and harmonious atmosphere at the pre-school.
• Staff work hard to ensure that children and families from disadvantaged backgrounds receive the support they require, even providing their own food bags for those in the greatest of need. They engage with other professionals to support children's individual needs. However, where appropriate, plans are not always in place to support children before they join the pre-school. This creates a delay in implementing targeted interventions to support children's development from the outset.
• The physical environment incorporates children's interests and is well planned to provide choice and challenge. Specific learning packs are made to help children practise specific skills, such as threading to support fine motor development. The curriculum is designed to spark children's curiosity. With support, children remain engaged in activities for long periods of time. Staff help the children to develop their own ideas. For example, they consider what resources to use when applying colour to a doll's face.
• Children prepare for life in modern Britain through being tolerant and accepting of each other's beliefs. Positive images that portray different family structures, disabilities and cultures are everywhere in the pre-school, and staff help the children to celebrate their own uniqueness.
• Children develop independence through different ways, including washing and drying their hands before eating. They sit at a table for snack and enthusiastically serve themselves different fruits from a large tray, using tweezers. Their confidence and well-being are nurtured by staff who take the time to sit at activities with them. They give encouragement to 'have a go' and help children to feel that they are a valued member of the pre-school.
• Children's health is important to the staff. Staff implement a toothbrushing scheme and provide a range of different fruits for the children to eat at snack time. They encourage children to be physically active by participating in climbing, sliding and balancing in the enclosed outdoor space.
• Language development is a key focus in the pre-school, and songs, stories and rhymes form part of the routine. Children join in with a song bag activity. They take turns to select an object from the bag and then sing the appropriate song. However, staff have not fully thought through how background noise can make it more difficult to gain children's attention before giving them an instruction during listening activities.
• Feedback from parents is excellent. Families say how kind and helpful the staff are and how they regularly share information about their child's progress, giving ideas about how to support their learning at home. Staff hold stay-and-play sessions and deliver weekly yoga sessions for children and parents.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• work proactively with other professionals so that information is shared and targeted plans put in place before children join the pre-school
• limit background noise during focus activities to gain child's attention before communicating with them.