Purley Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children demonstrate impressive levels of independence, confidence and resilience at this welcoming pre-school. From the outset, leaders and staff build warm, responsive relationships with children. They provide a stimulating, well-resourced learning environment, inside and outside, where children eagerly explore on their own, with friends and alongside enthusiastic staff. Each child's unique personalities and learning styles are recognised and celebrated. For example, while children play hide and seek with staff, they quietly slip under tables, helping one another to arrange chairs around them. They whisper, wondering if they will be discovered. Staff play along and pretend they do not see them straight away, which makes the hiding children giggle and sparks laughter all around. This joyful atmosphere, where children can express themselves freely, nurtures positive behaviour and fosters a genuine love for learning.

Robust procedures for settling in new children help them quickly become involved in the fun activities. Highly skilled staff motivate these children to try new experiences. They provide impressive support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), those who receive additional funding and children who speak English as an additional language, enabling them to make continuous progress. Children also show compassion towards peers with complex needs, sensitively including them in their play. As a result, children thrive alongside one another and grow into self-assured and competent learners, which creates a truly respectful and nurturing place to be.

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

• Committed staff follow in the footsteps of passionate leaders. They swiftly identify any gaps in children's learning and provide effective, tailored support for those with SEND. Close relationships with parents and external professionals ensure strategies used in the pre-school are reinforced successfully. This reflects the team's dedication to an inclusive approach, as they thoughtfully adapt the curriculum to meet these children's individual needs for their sustained progress.
• The outdoor provision is a distinctive strength. Children love being in the fresh air and develop their physical skills well. They readily test their abilities with confidence, demonstrating great resilience. For example, younger children build core strength and balance as they swing on a rope attached to a tree. Older children work in pairs to spin at speed when on the see-saw. They show an understanding of how their leg muscles power the movement and notice the see-saw slows down when their feet leave the ground. Staff also take children into the forest school area, where they develop valuable skills, such as teamwork, cooperation and problem-solving.
• Communication and language development is seamlessly woven into daily routines and children's play. For instance, staff encourage children to notice similarities between different crates as they work together to construct a stable tower. Children eagerly test out their ideas and carefully consider which crates to select, while using appropriate language to narrate their thinking. This helps to strengthen and deepen their reasoning skills. They beam with pride, as they gain a genuine sense of accomplishment when they succeed.
• Experienced and knowledgeable leaders prioritise children's needs in their decision-making. For example, they place a strong emphasis on children's personal, social and emotional development. They work diligently with staff to promote children's independence when managing their self-care, such as putting on outdoor clothes and wellington boots. Through sensitive interactions, children learn to recognise and understand their emotions. Older children mirror staff's warm and positive interactions as they make friendships with younger peers easily. Children also gain confidence in socialising with people from different walks of life, for example, during regular visits to a local care home.
• Leaders demonstrate an in-depth understanding of child development. They observe staff's practice and offer constructive feedback on ways to improve their existing knowledge and skills. Although leaders encourage individual staff to complete relevant training to address their needs, they do not consistently provide more personalised programmes for all staff. In addition, leaders acknowledge that the monitoring, coaching and mentoring aspects are not as well embedded to ensure all staff use the most effective teaching strategies to support children's development even further.
• Parents are highly complimentary about the care and support their children receive. They express immense confidence in the leaders' and staff's abilities to meet their children's individual needs. Staff maintain open and effective communication, ensuring parents are fully informed about their children's time at the pre-school and developmental progress. Parents particularly value the support given by staff to prepare their children for school, especially in developing their independence, confidence, social skills and speech.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance staff's teaching skills further by fully establishing and monitoring effective, individualised coaching, training and mentoring programmes that consistently support children to make the best possible progress.