Rattlesden Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the pre-school happily and readily go off to find their friends. They benefit from interesting resources that promote their natural instincts to discover and explore. Staff plan and provide an interesting range of activities, both indoors and outside, that promotes all areas of learning. They pay good attention to planning for outdoors, helping to ensure that those children who learn best from being outside can do so. Children develop the key skills needed to be ready for the next stage of their learning, such as moving on to school. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well, helping to ensure that they make good progress.

When working in small groups, children listen and concentrate well. They are encouraged to snip with scissors as they create their own story books. Staff promote children's communication and language skills well. They provide a running commentary as children work and play. Children develop their physical skills in the well-resourced garden. Staff encourage children to count how many steps they take as they play a popular game together. Children are supported to understand the importance of their personal health needs, such as putting on sun hats when playing outdoors.

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

• Good steps have been taken to address the recent welfare requirements notice. For example, the management team have reviewed their policy and procedure for missing children, to ensure that staff fully understand the process to follow. They have also revised how staff are deployed, to ensure that children are always kept safe.
• Staff talk confidently about where children are in their learning and what they need to do to support their continuing progress. Staff are confident to carry through their findings into providing a curriculum that meets children's individual needs. Children readily seek out staff to share their play experiences.
• Staff are actively engaged in the children's play and learning. However, they do not always extend children's learning or adapt activities well enough to enable children to participate at their own level. In addition, whole group times, such as story time, are not organised, so that children can listen and concentrate. Routine times, such as snack time, are sometimes chaotic.
• Overall, children play well together. They play together and follow the consistent ground rules. Staff manage children's behaviour well. They are calm and gentle as they remind children of the rules and help them to share and take turns. Staff show a good respect for children's work and give meaningful praise for their efforts.
• Children feel secure in their relationships with staff. Staff respond positively when children need reassurance. Each child has a named person to take responsibility for their daily well-being, plan for their learning and development. Where the key person needs to change, this is communicated to parents.
• Children learn about the importance of good hygiene routines. They are encouraged to have regard for their own personal hygiene needs. Children manage their own self-care relevant to their age and stage of development.
• Staff support children to develop positive attitudes to each other and people beyond their own experiences. Parents appreciate the strong sense of community that is fostered in the pre-school. In addition, parents are kept well informed about what their children are doing in the pre-school. They are encouraged to remain involved in their children's learning.
• Children develop a positive sense of themselves. They readily lead their own play and learning. Staff have established strong partnerships with the local primary school. This helps to ensure that children are fully supported as they prepare for the next stage in their learning, such as moving into the Reception class.
• The pre-school's management team demonstrate a strong commitment towards improvement. The manager is supported effectively by the active committee. There is a system of regular staff supervision to monitor their practice, support their professional development and tackle underperformance. There is a strong culture of mutual support.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff skills, so that they extend children's learning and enable them to participate at their own level
• improve the organisation of times when all children are sitting together, to support them in developing their ability to listen attentively and concentrate
• review the organisation of routine activities, such as snack time, to ensure that children continue to enjoy a good standard of teaching and learning.