Rushwick Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the pre-school happy and separate from their parents or carers with ease. They form secure relationships with the kind and caring staff team. Children are independent and take responsibility for their belongings. They behave well and know what staff expect of them. On arrival, children place their lunch box in the designated area and promptly hang up their coats on their pegs. Children learn to recognise their names. They find their name card and place it on the registration board.

Children benefit from a broad curriculum, which staff tailor to meet their individual needs. They are eager to play and motivated to learn. Children develop good literacy skills. They learn to link letters to sounds and practise writing the letters of their names. Children sit at the table to make marks with felt tip pens. They listen attentively to stories read enthusiastically by staff. Children confidently join in with action songs and rhymes. Children use their imaginations and express their creativity. They make models from reusable materials, such as cardboard and plastic. Children carefully use scissors to cut card and tape. Staff sit alongside them to offer support and encouragement. They introduce numbers into their play. Children are familiar with number language and accurately predict phrases, such as '5,4,3,2,1 blast off'. They enthusiastically lift their model rocket into the air.

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

• The leadership and management of the pre-school is strong. The dedicated manager has a good understanding of her responsibilities and works with leaders to ensure all committee members are vetted and suitable for their roles. She regularly meets with the committee to discuss ways to drive continuous improvement and further develop their already good standard of care and education.
• The manager holds her staff team in high regard. She works alongside staff on a daily basis. The manager meets regularly with staff to talk about their well-being and discuss ongoing professional development opportunities. Staff morale is high. They state that they feel valued and supported by the manager and wider leadership team. Staff are very happy in their roles and appreciate opportunities to attend online training, which the manager organises for them based on their needs and interests.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those in receipt of additional funding, such as early years pupil premium, benefit from effective support to enhance their learning experiences. Staff invite external professionals, such as speech and language therapists, into the pre-school to provide a complementary approach to children's learning. Any additional funding the pre-school receives is used effectively. The manager ensures that funds are used to support children's individual needs.
• Staff plan a good balance of child-initiated and adult-led activities. They know what they want children to learn and why. However, on occasion, particularly during group activities, staff's intentions for children's learning are not always developmentally appropriate for all taking part. This means that some children are not as actively engaged in their learning as their peers.
• The key-person system is effective. Staff know children in their care well. They plan a wide range of interesting play activities around children's current interests and next steps in learning. Children make good progress.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Staff gather a range of information from parents when children first begin to attend. For example, they seek information on children's development and interests. This helps staff to plan for their learning from the outset. Staff speak to parents at drop-off and collection times and add photographs to children's online learning records to keep them updated on what children know and can do. However, staff are yet to share enough information about what children need to learn next to help parents continue and extend learning at home. Parents speak highly of the pre-school. They state the staff are lovely and their children are very happy to attend.
• Staff support children's communication and language skills effectively. They engage them in meaningful conversations as they play. Children excitedly tell staff where they are going on holiday and what they will do when they get there.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the organisation of group activities to support all children to be actively engaged in their learning
• share more information with parents about what their children need to learn next to support them to continue or extend learning at home.