Redhill Baptist Church Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the pre-school ready for their play and learning. Staff adopt strategies that are effective in enabling all children to settle quickly and engage in the activities and experiences on offer. Children delight in imaginative play, such as pretending to wash the dinosaurs in their 'dinosaur shower'. They explain how they are 'working together' as they build good friendships and cooperate with others. Children develop skills they need to manage their behaviours and emotions. For example, as children register their attendance on arrival, they talk with staff about how they feel. Staff then review this with children to explore their feelings and validate their emotions. Children access daily outdoor play, and staff recognise the importance of providing large play activities indoors during inclement weather. Children learn about their own safety and that of others when using the equipment. Staff enhance this by using a stop-and-go sign to support children's awareness of following instructions and their awareness of literacy.

Children take part in music sessions where they animatedly join in the actions to favourite songs. For example, they excitedly sing 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' and then repeat this at a faster pace. Children hear instruments being played, such as a keyboard and guitar, which they accompany with their own set of bells. This supports children's awareness of rhythm and movement. Leaders plan an effective teaching and learning environment, which staff put into practice well overall. The ambitions for the curriculum are good for all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This enables children to make the progress that they are capable of and to receive effective levels of challenge to stretch this further.

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

• Leaders use appropriate processes for observing and supporting staff's practice and development. For example, staff have regular individual meetings with leaders to discuss the aspects of their roles and to plan for professional development opportunities and training. This helps to build an effective team of staff who share their skills and knowledge with each other.
• Leaders share their expectations for teaching with staff, which arise from their observations of staff's practice and children's learning outcomes. However, on occasions, staff do not confidently put these into practice to support the development of children's skills and attributes even further.
• Staff have a secure knowledge of their key children and what comes next in their sequence of learning. The staff work together and bring their knowledge of their key children to staff meetings. From this, they share activities and experiences that they weave into the planning. This enables all staff to be aware of what children need to learn next so that they can make the best use of any interactions with them.
• Staff help children to recall information about past or recent events, such as making play dough. Staff ask children effective questions about the ingredients they used and how they mixed these together. Children receive the time they need to process the questions and verbalise a response. This enables children to learn about the flow of a conversation and that staff value their input.
• There is a clear routine to the sessions at the pre-school, and staff sometimes use effective methods to indicate when there is a change. For example, they ring a bell to indicate to children that it is time to tidy up. However, on occasions when staff bring children together, they do not communicate this clearly enough to children. This means that children are not able to bring their play to a close or fully understand what is happening next.
• Staff make sure that children see themselves represented at the pre-school. They embrace and celebrate differences and similarities and actively support children who are learning more than one language. For example, staff use words and phrases in the languages children speak at home alongside English. This helps children to feel a strong sense of belonging and to develop a good command of English.
• Partnerships with parents are good and staff work with them from the outset. Staff gather as much information as possible about children's learning needs, interests and styles. Parents report that staff recognise emerging gaps in learning promptly and, due to this early intervention, children quickly catch up with their friends. For example, parents comment about the speedy improvement in children's language development due to the effective support and strategies staff implement.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to support staff to continually embed all aspects of the intention for the curriculum
• strengthen how changes in the day are communicated to children so that they can conclude their play and understand what comes next.