Rainbow Pre-school (Handforth) CIO

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their time at pre-school. They show that they feel safe in the company of the experienced team. Staff know how children learn. This is demonstrated by the well-planned use of the indoor and outdoor spaces. Children gather for circle time in a room free of distractions. This helps children to listen more attentively. Children of all ages move freely between the interesting, varied activities. This promotes their confidence and self-motivation. The activities extend and reinforce children's progress. They carefully negotiate and repeat an indoor obstacle course. This helps to promote children's balance and core strength.

Staff understand child development and know individual children well. This helps them to promote children's positive behaviour. For example, the consistent daily routine means that toddlers who prefer to play outside know that they can return there after register time. They therefore learn to cooperate with the rules and routines of pre-school. Parents and carers praise the thought and care that staff put into their role. When it is time for the progress check for children aged between two and three years, staff consult and meet with parents. This helps everyone to work together to support the next steps in children's learning.

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

• The well-qualified team work together well. Areas of responsibility are shared effectively. This helps everyone to benefit from individual staff's professional expertise and interests. Furthermore, it makes the lines of accountability really clear. For example, staff know who to report any safeguarding matters to. They know the action that they must take if they are concerned about the behaviour of a colleague towards children.
• Staff plan activities that engage children's attention and stimulate their thinking. Children particular enjoy the stories that staff regularly read and discuss with them. However, some activities are less effective. Staff say that they want to help two-year-old children to concentrate. They hold up written letters and ask children to say the sounds for the letters. This is not meaningful to the children. Their interest and concentration fade.
• The curriculum promotes children's early literacy. Children play lotto games that require them to match picture cards to the pictures on their board. Children busily search for their written name at the lunch table. They know that this tells them where to sit. The daily practice teaches children to recognise their own and other children's names. They learn that writing has meaning.
• Children acquire habits that promote their good health. They brush their teeth every day and learn why this is important. They learn to put on and fasten their coats before running and playing in the rain. Children learn skills that promote their independence. They confidently pour and carry drinks at snack time.
• Children continuously extend their meaningful vocabulary. They play barrier games and demonstrate their growing knowledge of positional words such as 'on' and 'under'. They are excited to see and talk about a 'rainbow'. However, some interactions are less effective. At snack time staff give pieces of apple and banana to children without naming the fruit. This limits the progress of children who are learning to understand and pronounce everyday words.
• Children develop friendships as they grow. They work together to develop imaginative storylines for small-world role play. The play promotes children's deep involvement and thinking. They learn to value other people's ideas.
• Staff observe children and assess their progress. This helps them to identify signs that children may have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff make timely referrals to other agencies. They incorporate the advice of specialist professionals into children's individual programmes. This helps to ensure that all children, including those with SEND, make good progress from their starting points.
• Staff promote children's health and safety well. They are deployed effectively so that children are always supervised. For example, children sit at tables while they eat and staff are always present. This helps to prevent incidents of choking. Staff complete required records. Parents report that they receive information about children's accidents and injuries at pre-school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to make better use of activities and routines to focus even more effectively on what children are trying to learn next
• develop staff's knowledge and understanding of language development even further, in order that activities and interactions fully promote children's vocabulary and communication skills.