Phoenix Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and secure in this nurturing environment. They enjoy lots of attention from the kind and welcoming staff. This means that strong bonds between them are quickly formed. From these secure attachments children feel safe and cared for. They settle in well and develop confidence to explore the many interesting resources and activities.

Children respond positively to staff, who have high expectations for their behaviour and learning. Boys and girls of different ages play together happily and support each other's learning. For example, older children show their younger peers how to use money in their pretend shop. They demonstrate how to add together small quantities, which encourages other children to have a go too.

Children are enthusiastic and active in their learning. They show curiosity about the world around them. For instance, they excitedly hunt for snails and caterpillars in their garden. They then look at books with staff to find out more about the creatures. Children confidently share their knowledge with visitors to the pre-school. They use a wide range of words as they describe the stages in a butterfly's life cycle and talk about the foods that snails enjoy most.

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

• The manager, who also owns the pre-school, is enthusiastic and knowledgeable. She cares deeply about the children and families that use the provision and values everyone's contribution to the pre-school. Parents describe how nurturing and affectionate staff are to their children. They say that their children love attending and form strong bonds with their key persons. Parents speak about excellent communication with staff. They know what their children are learning and how they can support this at home.
• All staff are professionally qualified. They say that they feel well supported, personally and professionally, by the manager. They are positive about the training they receive and enjoy the challenge of taking on new roles and responsibilities. The manager speaks with pride about the dedicated staff team.
• The manager and staff know what children need to learn, and plan their curriculum well. This helps children to develop a broad range of skills and knowledge, and prepare for starting school. Children who need extra help are very well supported. For instance, staff develop and implement targeted plans for them. They involve parents in their plans for children and work with outside professionals, where needed. All children make good progress. This includes children who receive funding, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language.
• Staff know individual children well, and talk about them with affection and interest. In general, staff support children's learning effectively. They play alongside them, introduce them to new words and model good social skills. Staff listen to children's ideas and support their interests. However, on occasion, they step in too quickly to provide answers or complete tasks for children, rather than encouraging them to work things out for themselves.
• Children are motivated to learn and discover. For instance, children were excited as they mixed together different coloured paints to create new colours and shades. They spoke enthusiastically about what they had learned and showed interest in the colours that their friends had created.
• Children show pleasure in being physically active and spend lots of time playing outdoors. They run confidently as they play chasing games and practise skills, such as balancing and jumping. Older children know they must wash their hands regularly to get rid of dirt and germs. They recognise their own physical needs, such as when they feel thirsty and need a drink. They confidently go to find their individual water bottles.
• Staff support children's behaviour very well. They provide gentle reminders and explanations to help children learn about rules and boundaries. Staff help children to manage their strong emotions and encourage them to think about the feelings of others. Children respond well to praise and encouragement they receive from staff. They demonstrate pride and enjoyment in taking on small responsibilities, such as helping to tidy up.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to support children's thinking and problem-solving skills more effectively.