Quarndon Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily at the pre-school, and staff greet them at the door. They find their name for self-registration and put it on their 'belongings pocket'. Children seek out staff to say hello and to tell them about their weekend. Staff listen attentively and ask questions to prompt further two-way conversations. This helps to build strong attachments and gives children a sense of belonging.

Staff create a stimulating environment, which includes resources stored at a low level for children to self-select. Children benefit from an ambitious curriculum, which helps to spark their creativity and use of their imaginations. For instance, children seek out their friends to join in with role play. They then cooperatively decide who is going to be each character and quickly become engrossed in their 'lost princess' story. Children pretend to search the palace for the princess. Once found, they tell her to rest, and they use their 'magical powers' to turn a book into a pillow. Staff support children's developing imagination by giving them the freedom of self-expression. They use questions to prompt children's thinking further.

Staff provide children with lots of opportunities to be active and to develop their physical skills. Children learn to balance and coordinate their body as they successfully negotiate the climbing frame and slide. They patiently wait their turn and remind their friends about using the equipment safely.

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

• Leaders have worked hard to address the weaknesses identified at the last inspection. They work closely with staff to support their learning, offering training and coaching. For example, staff have attended safeguarding training, which has secured their understanding of what to do if they have concerns about a child's welfare. Leaders have reviewed their recruitment processes to ensure that new committee members have the required suitability checks completed.
• Staff provide activities to support children's social interactions. For instance, children are encouraged to join in with group time. Staff play familiar songs, moving around the room while performing actions to the words. Children stomp their feet like elephants and sway their arms like elephant trunks. Staff are good role models and encourage less confident children to join in. Children giggle as they use their arms to weave in and out of each other, hissing like snakes.
• Children behave well and know what is expected of them. They share, take turns and show consideration to their friends. For example, during a crown making activity, children tell staff that they will not use all the gems because their friends might like some too. On the rare occasions when staff need to remind the children about the rules, they listen and respond positively.
• The manager actively promotes well-being with her staff. They work well together as a strong team. Staff have one-to-one meetings with leaders. They discuss any training they have completed, safeguarding and any health and safety issues. However, staff are not always provided with clear objectives to support their professional development, to improve the outcomes for children.
• Parents and carers speak very highly of the pre-school. They comment that staff are dedicated to their role and offer families support and guidance when needed. Parents say that their children love pre-school and count down the days until it is a pre-school day. The manager and staff speak daily with parents to provide them with information about their children's day. However, staff do not keep all parents fully informed about what their children are learning. This means that some parents do not have all the information they need to support their child's continued learning at home.
• Children move freely around the environment, inside and outside, choosing activities and leading their own play. Staff use children's interests skilfully to help them to build on what they already know and can do. For example, children show an interest in wildlife and frogs. Staff use pretend lily pads and frogs to support children's mathematical development. Children learn to count from one to five, placing the correct number of frogs onto a lily pad. Once mastered, staff extend the activity, and children learn to count to 10. They then compare sizes and put the lily pads in order, smallest to biggest. This sequenced learning secures children's understanding of early mathematical concepts.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve strategies for sharing information with parents so they are clear about what the learning intention is for their children, to help support children's learning at home
• strengthen arrangements for staff supervision in order to identify any targeted support and training effectively, to improve outcomes for children.