Peachcroft Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Knowledgeable staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well, and they are vigilant to any signs of delay in development. Children who need additional support with regard to their speech and language development are supported at the earliest opportunity, helping to secure swift progress. There is a strong emphasis on working with parents and other professionals to ensure every child has support tailored towards their individual needs. Children behave well and follow the rules and expectations of the pre - school. Staff gently remind children to say please and thank you, to help develop their manners.

Staff follow children's interests well and plan exciting activities that they are eager to be involved in. For example, during a 'bug hunt' children excitedly race around the garden with magnifying glasses looking for slugs, snails and spiders. Children are in awe as they watch the slugs slide along the ground and, compare which is the longest and shortest.

Children have abundant opportunities to play outside in the pre-school's well-resourced garden. Staff use the outside space well to enable children to learn about growing plants and vegetables. They harvest carrots, strawberries and pumpkins which they share and eat at snack time. In addition, children have a wonderful time rolling down grassy hills and whizzing along on balance bikes.

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

• The well-designed curriculum emphasises specific areas of learning at the start of the academic year. There is an all-round focus on supporting the personal, social and emotional development of the younger children. For the older children, who have already had experience at the pre-school, there are many opportunities to challenge and extend what they already know and can do. For example, at carpet time, children identify letters and the sounds they represent and show great delight in their achievements.
• Children benefit from many opportunities to explore their feelings and emotions. Staff read the 'Colour Monster' story to children to help them learn the vocabulary for their emotions. Children use tongs to select small, coloured pom-poms and place them on the correct colour, developing their fine motor skills and demonstrating their understanding of emotions.
• Staff support children in developing their independence skills. For example, children find their own water bottles which are labelled with their names. They change from their outdoor shoes to indoor shoes on arrival. Children enjoy taking responsibility for small tasks such as handing out water bottles to their peers.
• Staff have high expectations of children and deploy themselves effectively. They engage with children, responding positively while they play. For example, children are encouraged to build towers using numbered wooden blocks. They identify which number comes next and consolidate their learning as they compare dots to corresponding numbers. However, at times, some staff do not expand children's experiences as they are not fully aware of the learning intent for the activity on offer. This does not always effectively encourage children to widen their knowledge and skills they are learning.
• Staff support children to learn clear and consistent routines. For example, staff clap out a rhythmic cue to signal a change in routine, along with visual prompts. Children know what is expected of them and staff are attentive and kind in their approach. Children behave well and demonstrate kindness.
• The manager and staff work in collaboration with parents to support children's continued learning. They gather essential information from parents when children first start and review it regularly. This means that staff can meet children's individual care and learning needs successfully. Staff frequently provide parents with updates about children's learning and daily routines. They offer ideas to support children's learning at home. For example, there is a wealth of books for parents to borrow.
• The provider and the manager are clear about how they want the pre-school to develop. They identify strengths and areas for development as a team. Staff confirm they feel supported and appreciated. Consequently, staff are able to carry out their roles effectively.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to be fully aware of the learning intent of activities and identify opportunities to extend children's learning further.