Rainbow Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are settled, happy and always busily engaged in this highly inclusive pre-school. They illustrate how happy they are as they enter the building with a beaming smile. Children are encouraged to develop their independence skills. For example, they self-register when they arrive and choose what they would like to play with. Staff know each child extremely well and are highly attentive to their needs throughout the day. They are quick to provide comfort and reassurance, supporting children to feel safe and happy to explore their surroundings.

All children show excitement when exploring the activities on offer. For instance, they thoroughly enjoy investigating how to release toy animals from ice with a toothbrush. Children delight in building the tallest tower with shapes, and singing and dancing along with familiar songs. There are many opportunities for children to take part in both large- and small-group activities. Children are keen to engage and show a sense of belonging to the group. They show awe and wonder in their faces when exploring the world of animals, rockets and space travel. Children are exposed to a wealth of different resources that support them to build their independence, resilience, physical skills and social skills. They are well supported to move on to the next stage of their learning journey.

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

• Staff carefully plan and deliver activities that build on prior knowledge. They use assessment well to identify and address any gaps, ensuring that children make progress. The curriculum is designed to be ambitious for all, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The setting uses funding effectively to provide resources to support children's individual needs. For example, they have purchased specialist equipment for physical development and sensory resources to help promote their emotional development. This helps to keep children motivated, interested and active learners.
• Staff present information clearly and provide appropriate challenge for children. They introduce new learning and use questioning effectively to further their understanding. For example, staff challenge children to find specific colours or numbers of objects and to solve simple problems. Children's faces light up with pride as they excitedly run to staff and receive high praise for their achievements. This builds their independence and resilience skills and helps to develop a 'can-do' attitude to learning.
• Staff support language development well and introduce new vocabulary during play, such as 'solid' and 'liquid' when looking at ice melting. Generally, children are making good progress in their language development. However, staff do not consistently use a range of techniques to help those children who struggle to communicate their wants and needs verbally. This can result in some children becoming frustrated at times as they cannot communicate effectively.
• The provider maintains a good working relationship with parents. Parents report feeling supported and say that their children enjoy attending the setting. However, some parents are unsure of their child's next steps in learning and how they can further support learning at home. This does not fully support continuity in care and learning.
• Children show that they understand the rules and routines well. They help their friends to remember to wash their hands and clear away their plates at snack time. Children are happy to help tidy resources away and eagerly await the next activity. Staff's consistent expectations and boundaries support a positive and respectful environment.
• All staff promote a culture of good manners. Children are reminded to be polite and kind to one another. Staff focus on promoting friendships for all children, especially those who are new to the setting. Children enjoy the responsibility of 'buddying up' with new children. For instance, they take their hands to guide them and show them how to brush a toy animal's teeth with foam.
• The provider supports staff to further develop their own skills and knowledge through training and to make progress with their personal achievements. However, this is not as strong for newer members of staff. This means that children are not consistently benefiting from the good-quality education that the staff are capable of delivering.
• The provider has a clear vision for a highly inclusive setting that provides good care and education to all. She uses her staff's expertise to provide an evolving curriculum to address the needs of the current children. The manager has shared this vision with her staff, who instinctively know where they need to be and how they need to support each child to make the best progress they can.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on staff's understanding of how to further extend children's communication skills
• strengthen communication with parents by sharing clear information about their children's learning
• plan professional development opportunities for newer staff to help extend their knowledge and skills.