Pinewood Family Group

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and eager to start their busy day at this inviting pre-school. Caring staff form strong emotional connections with children. Leaders and staff skilfully and sensitively support children who initially take time to settle. They devise personalised programmes with parents to ease the transition from home to pre-school. For example, staff make home visits and get to know them well. This helps them develop a clear understanding of what they want children to learn next.

Children are extremely motivated to learn. They play cooperatively with their friends, often applying strategies they have been taught previously, such as using a sand-timer for fair turn taking. The carefully thought-out curriculum encompasses children's needs, abilities and interests well. It is created in consultation with reception teachers at the local school. This strongly helps to prepare children for their eventual move to school.

Experienced leaders actively work with staff to strengthen their behaviour management skills. All staff use strategies, such as positive language, setting targets and giving generous praise and encouragement to foster good behaviour. Additionally, techniques, such as singing songs about the expected behaviour at circle times, helps to promote a positive learning culture. For example, all children including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), sit on the carpet, listen intently to the speaker and patiently wait for their turn to contribute.

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

• The clearly defined curriculum is ambitious and sets high expectations for what children can learn. The provision is further enhanced by changing different areas within the room to take account of children's ever-growing interests and achievements. For instance, staff have moved the reading area to a quieter corner and created a cosy den, where children explore and share books calmly. The learning environment is successfully strengthening children's engagement and love for books.
• Leaders utilise any additional funding very well. Children with SEND and others who receive funding, benefit from those adults who are specifically trained to deliver targeted interventions. Leaders support staff to follow the advice received from other professionals when completing children's personalised learning and medical plans. These plans are regularly reviewed and adapted. This successfully equips children with the skills they need for future learning.
• Staff organise appealing sensory experiences, which boost children's inquisitive natures to explore and investigate. They position themselves around to expand on children's learning and ensure children are always vigilantly supervised. However, the daily routine is structured in such a way that staff sometimes interrupt children unnecessarily and without warning, when they are fully immersed in their play. On these occasions, this impacts on children's ability to remain deeply engaged in their explorations and breaks children's concentration, hindering them from not always making the best possible progress.
• Outdoor learning is a key feature. Leaders recognise that children who prefer to play outdoors, benefit greatly. There are ample opportunities to freely exercise and develop physical skills in the fresh air. For example, children learn to negotiate spaces when riding wheeled toys and control large hoops as they roll them across the garden. They laugh, giggle and show great delight in games, such as when being chased by staff. Some prefer more calming activities in the garden, for example, listening to stories read by enthusiastic staff or independently looking at information books that capture their interest.
• Leaders prioritise staff's well-being, providing them with regular opportunities to discuss how they feel at work. Staff access a variety of training to continually improve their knowledge and skills. However, leaders are yet to precisely identify specific areas of development to ensure all staff's teaching skills are of a consistently high quality. For instance, some staff focus their attention on more vocal children when teaching in a group situation. This means the quieter, less confident ones sometimes miss out on moving to the next level. Consequently, this has an impact on children's development across the provision.
• Parents express their sheer delight at the personalised care and attention staff give to their children. They value the constant communication from staff about their children's ongoing development. Staff work closely with parents and share key ideas and suggestions to support their children's learning at home. This is evident when parents borrow books and learning packs from the setting to use at home. This continuity in education massively benefits children. Parents compliment staff on how they wholeheartedly focus on promoting children's confidence, emotional wellbeing, behaviour and communication skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• adjust routine arrangements so that children can continue to explore and expand their learning for longer periods without interruptions
• strengthen the monitoring of individual staff's practice, to ensure their teaching always has the best possible impact on children's development.