Plumbland Pre School Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff offer a nurturing and stimulating learning environment, where children's smiling faces show that they feel happy and safe. Staff know the children well and they place a strong focus on children's well-being. New children settle quickly through the tailored settling-in arrangements that staff put in place. All children form strong emotional attachments with their key persons. They are confident individuals and enthusiastic learners.

Children eagerly come into the pre-school. They demonstrate positive attitudes to learning as they happily engage in their self-chosen play. Staff weave the curriculum well into children's play. They follow children's interests and build on what children already know and can do. Staff promote children's learning about oral health through activities. Children use associated resources to practise their teeth cleaning skills. They listen to stories about visiting the dentist and respond to staff's questioning about their own experiences.

Children behave well and follow well-embedded routines. Staff have high expectations of children. They provide a curriculum that effectively supports children in gaining independence, social skills and confidence, in readiness for school. Children learn to do things for themselves. For example, they serve themselves at snack time and help to tidy up during the day. Children just love every minute of their day.

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

• Staff effectively support children's communication and language development. For example, as children play, staff introduce new vocabulary, including different mathematical concepts. Children learn about opposites, such as 'heavy and light' or 'night and day'. As staff interact with children, they encourage them to talk and give children time to share their thoughts and ideas. Children are confident communicators.
• Children show a positive attitude towards their learning. They respond well to staff's interactions during their play and many incidental moments that staff use to extend children's learning and understanding. For example, children find a slug and observe it closely in a magnifying jar. Children show great empathy for the slug and consider how the slug would feel better in the field. They release it and hold further discussions about what it will eat as well as the slime trails it leaves. Children show awe and wonder in the world around them.
• The manager and staff have designed a curriculum that is tailored to meet the individual needs of the children. Staff are in tune to the children's needs. They constantly adapt the way they deliver the curriculum to ensure that learning is embedded. This helps all children to make good progress.
• Staff immerse children in a wide range of experiences that promote their physical health and emotional well-being. Children show skill and confidence as they independently use the climbing frames, balance beams and wheeled toys outdoors. Staff help children to build their muscles through these sessions and support children in developing their small- and large-muscle movements.
• Children enjoy an abundance of literacy experiences. They have continuous access to mark-making resources that they use to help develop their early writing skills. They learn to use scissors safely and through staff's support they competently practice their cutting skills. Children snuggle up to staff as they listen to stories, showing the close bond they have developed as well as their early interest reading.
• Partnership with parents is good. Parents feel involved in their children's development. This helps to maintain consistency of care and learning. They appreciate how staff keep them informed of their children's progress. They say staff support the whole family not just the children. They appreciate the manager's setting up of a toddler group since the pandemic, which enable them and their children to socialise with others. Again, this is highly beneficial to children's well-being.
• The manager and staff work well as a team. This contributes to the happy and calm atmosphere they create, which effectively supports children's learning. While staff receive some training opportunities, the provider and manager do not make effective use of supervision sessions to monitor staff's professional development, so they can target support and make further improvements to the quality of provision for children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• embed a system of formal supervision to build on the support, coaching and training provided to continuously develop staff's knowledge and skills.