Rainbow Pre-school (Stansted)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children receive a warm welcome from staff when they arrive at the pre-school and quickly settle into play. They explore the many learning areas that entice children to be creative and develop their imaginations. Older children enjoy pretending to be doctors. They use phones and keypads to make appointments and use their early writing skills to write notes about their patients. Young children spend time building pens to keep the toy dinosaurs secure. They talk about size and pair the dinosaurs up, showing their developing mathematical understanding.

Children behave well. They play cooperatively, take turns and share resources. Children thoroughly enjoy being outside. They are highly active as they join in exercise sessions and ride tricycles and scooters around the newly painted road track. Children negotiate space well and know how to keep themselves and others safe as they play. They have many opportunities to do things for themselves. Children know where to find their belongings and try hard to put on and fasten their coats. At snack time, children use safe knives to spread honey on pancakes. They talk excitedly about Pancake Day and look forward to having races later in the day.

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

• Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, staff have noticed some children have lower than expected starting points in learning, especially around speech and language and social development. Swift action taken by staff means these gaps in children's learning are now closing. They are now re-starting visits for children, such as to the local library, to widen children's experiences.
• Parent's comments about the pre-school and staff are highly positive. They state that they feel well informed about their children's development and know how to support their learning at home. Parents share that the recently introduced app has increased their knowledge of what children are doing at the pre-school. This effective two-way flow of information helps to promote consistency in children's care and learning.
• Children skills in using pencils are developing well. They spend time drawing detailed pictures with skill and precision. Children think carefully about colour as they decorate their pictures of pancakes with their favourite toppings.
• Overall, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. Key persons are aware of their needs and find quiet places to share books with children when they become overwhelmed. The manager holds the role of special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) and works closely with parents and other professionals. However, on occasions some newer members of staff are not aware of the procedure to alert the SENCO of concerns about children's development at the earliest possible opportunity.
• The managers and staff regularly evaluate their practice and look for ways to continually improve. They have regular meetings for discussion and to reflect on each child's needs. Staff are currently planning how they can further develop the outdoor area, such as adding space for growing plants.
• Recent expansion of the pre-school has resulted in new staff being recruited. The provider has effective procedures in place to help ensure staff are suitable to work with children. Staff report their induction was good and they quickly gained an understanding of their role and responsibilities. The provider has good systems in place to review staff's practice and to help them develop further. Staff regularly undertake training and research which further enhances their knowledge and skills.
• Children have many opportunities to explore creative materials, such as paint. Older children talk about how they are carrying out experiments as they mix paint colours together. They quickly work out how to use a displayed colour chart to find out how to make secondary colours. However, some activities in the younger children's room are, at times, less engaging. Some staff do not have a good enough grasp of what they want children to learn as they play and take part in planned activities.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure all staff understand the procedures for passing on concerns relating to children's development at the earliest possible opportunity
• support staff to develop their understanding of the learning intent of play and planned activities for the younger children.