Puddle-Ducks Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at this pre-school with enthusiasm and are eager to play with the toys on offer. They settle quickly and show they are comfortable in their surroundings. Children choose what they want to play with, both inside and outside. Staff support young children to learn how to pedal the tricycles, which also builds children's confidence. Children safely ride the tricycles and scooters around the playground, negotiating the cones as they pedal fast. They show good physical skills as they scramble up the climbing frame, balance at the top and work out how to come down safely. Children have fun as they pretend to be pirates and scream with delight as they excitedly hunt for treasure.

Children show a positive attitude to learning. Staff set up activities that allow children to explore and develop their problem-solving skills, such as a construction site. Children pretend to be builders. They put on their safety hats and builders' jackets independently and work as a team to build a pretend house. Children discuss with each other how to build the roof. With excitement, they build walls, decide on the shape of the roof, and use paper to create windows. Staff help children to compare the different size of the walls. They introduce new words, such as 'angle', to help children recognise the triangular shape of the roof. Children talk about their own experiences of building sites and comment on their own parents, some of whom are builders.

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

• The managers and staff know what it is that they want children to learn. They plan a curriculum to ensure the environment in which children play supports their interests and individual needs. Overall, the learning intentions are understood and implemented well by staff. However, sometimes, during adult-led activities, less confident staff do not always know how to adapt their teaching to help extend children's learning.
• Staff provide many activities to aid children's future learning and widen their experiences from home. For example, children who do not have a lot of access to messy play at home enjoy handling and manipulating play dough in the pre-school. Children tell visitors they are making a snowman. They squeeze the play dough in their hands to create the head and body and carefully poke sticks in it for arms. This activity strengthens children's small-muscle skills and creativity effectively.
• Overall, staff support children's communication and language skills well. They sit alongside children as they play and comment on what children are doing. Children listen to stories and sing along to songs using appropriate actions. However, occasionally, staff forget to help some children to build further on their vocabulary, particularly children who speak English as an additional language
• (EAL) and children with speech delays.
• Staff promote children's positive behaviour well. They talk calmly to children to help resolve any disputes. Children demonstrate a clear understanding of staff's expectations of them. They follow instructions and treat resources with care. Children develop respectful relationships with each other. They frequently work together and share resources during their play.
• Children develop good independence skills. Young children put on their wellington boots to go outside. Older children put on their coats and persevere as they try to pull up their zip. At snack time, children confidently wash their hands before eating. Older children pour their own drink of water or milk, without spilling it.
• Partnership with parents is strong. Parents comment positively about the pre-school and how their children are learning. Staff communicate with parents in a variety of ways. For example, they hold parent meetings and provide daily discussions regarding their child's care, learning and development. Staff talk to parents about activities they can do with their children at home. For example, they send home the lyrics to songs so the children can sing with their parents, which helps to develop their language skills further.
• The managers and staff work well as a team. Managers ensure that staff well-being is supported. They provide regular staff meetings and carry out appraisals to help identify gaps in staff knowledge and to discuss any concerns they may have. Staff attend training, for example, on how to encourage children to use their imagination more. Staff now provide children with a wide range of natural materials to help them explore their imagination and creative skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support less confident staff to develop teaching techniques to help them understand how to adapt the activities to the differing learning needs of children
• help staff to understand how to develop children's speaking skills further, particularly for children who speak EAL and for those with speech delay.