Plymtree Pre-school

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish at this warm and friendly pre-school. An established team of highly skilled staff places the interests and needs of each child at the centre of its curriculum. Staff plan meaningful and exciting activities for children. Staff use questions extremely well to get children to think and develop their ideas. Learning is skilfully interwoven into all aspects of the day.

Staff know the children extremely well. They ensure they find out plenty of information about what children know and like doing before they start at the pre-school. Staff offer settling-in sessions for children and parents. The manager notices how children 'come alive' when they hear music. Children are very happy and confident in the setting. They giggle as they take part in group activities such as parachute games to 'stretch our wriggles out', and cuddle into staff during storytelling.

Behaviour is exceptionally good. Children take turns and play together, for example making up stories around dinosaurs. Staff encourage children to be independent. Children enjoy helping each other to use the water pump on the portable sink to wash their hands. They use their named drawers to store special objects and get themselves ready when they choose to play outdoors.

Staff constantly evaluate the effectiveness of measures in the setting, including those introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, staff set up the highly effective 'snuffles station' with a mirror and pictures to help children learn how to blow their nose.

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

• The manager holds regular meetings with staff to plan a curriculum which meets the needs of all children. All staff teach the children brilliantly. They build on children's interests, and what children know and can do, to extend all areas of learning and development. Staff regularly add other items to favourite pretend play spaces, for instance construction toys and books to the dinosaur area.
• Staff use the play spaces well. They think about how to set out activities and resources to encourage children to try out new experiences, for instance adding a stage in the 'forest' area and using soap dispensers in messy play. This helps to personalise the provision for individual children's learning needs.
• Staff effectively plan for children with additional needs. They focus on language development for children who speak English as an additional language and those with speech and language needs. These children make rapid progress, for example asking and answering questions during group times and joining in with singing.
• Staff have highly effective relationships with parents. Parents praise the setting for how well their children are looked after and the excellent communication through daily books for each child, emails and a private social media page. Children use the 'waving window' in the hall to wave goodbye to parents. Parents praise this system for helping their children to settle in the morning.
• The manager ensures the key-person system is highly effective. They know their children very well and communicate effectively with parents and with external agencies. Staff build strong relationships with children and put in place strategies to help children to separate from parents, such as a 'magic unicorn', to make children feel happy.
• The manager encourages staff to bring new ideas into the setting to enhance the provision. For example, to help children cope with feelings and emotions, staff encourage them to take part in yoga sessions. Children particularly enjoy using the cuddly toy 'mindful mice' to focus on their breathing and enjoy the physical element of the different poses.
• The leadership and management of the setting are excellent. The manager knows her staff very well and has well-established, strong systems in place for staff development. All staff take part in both termly peer observations and supervisions to help develop their practice.
• The manager evaluates the curriculum regularly. She confidently identifies areas for development in the setting and immediately puts in place strategies to address them. For example, she identified speech and language as an area for development. Staff training was put in place and the teaching of new ambitious vocabulary now takes place throughout the day.
• Staff promote healthy lifestyles. Children eat food in the 'cafe' area, where they choose healthy foods for snack time. Staff provide parents with advice about healthy foods they can include in children's lunch boxes. Children learn how to keep fit during physical activities such as rugby, yoga and playing on bikes.