S4YC Out of School Club & Preschool - Whitby Heath

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily at this nurturing and welcoming pre-school. They are greeted with warm smiles by their key person. Children have formed positive relationships with staff and their peers. They demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. Staff have thorough procedures in place for settling-in sessions for each child. They complete home visits to get to know each child and their families. This helps children form secure attachments with staff.

Children behave well. They are kind and caring to their friends. For example, toddlers readily share books together. Staff are positive role models, and they have high expectations of all children. For example, they teach children to take turns from an early age. Children are praised for their kind behaviour and good listening skills. This helps to build up children's self-esteem.

Staff plan a range of stimulating activities for children based on their interests. Toddlers scoop out the insides of pumpkins using spoons. Older children learn about the concepts of sinking and floating. Staff support children to make predictions about which objects may sink or float. Children test out their ideas in the water tray. They are excited to learn and make good progress in their development.

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

• Staff create a broad and balanced curriculum. They know the skills that children enter the pre-school with and what they need to develop. For example, they recognise the children who may not have access to messy play opportunities out of pre-school. Staff have a secure knowledge of where children are in their development, and they build upon their prior knowledge. This helps staff to sequence children's learning effectively.
• Children gain a love of books from a young age. Staff share a range of books with children. Toddlers learn to turn pages by themselves and handle books carefully. Older children listen intently to their story time sessions and join in with repeated phrases. However, staff do not always provide children with enough time to process information and to answer their questions, to further enhance their communication skills.
• Staff promote children's physical development well. Children have plenty of opportunities to be physically active. They set up their own obstacle course in the outdoor area. Children balance confidently across planks of wood. They ride around on tricycles and balance bicycles outside. This helps to develop children's large-muscle skills.
• Children's behaviour is good. They listen to staff's instructions and follow them well. Staff teach children to share the resources and to have 'kind hands'. When any disputes do occur, staff deal with them promptly and effectively. Staff teach children about their feelings and what they can do if they feel happy, sad or angry. This helps to build upon children's emotional development.
• Children have plenty of opportunities to enhance their growing independence. For example, they collect their coats from their pegs. Children pour their own drinks at snack time. They are learning to manage their own personal hygiene. This helps children gain confidence to have a go at completing activities by themselves before asking for help.
• Parents are happy with the service provided. They praise staff for the good communication links with home. Parents are grateful for the home learning bags provided. They receive continuous updates about children's learning and development. This helps to provide continuity in children's learning.
• Staff access a range of professional development courses to enhance their knowledge. Leaders complete regular staff supervisions. However, staff's targets are not always focused on developing their individual delivery of the curriculum.
• Staff teach children about road safety, and they practise crossing roads in the outdoor area. Children are well supervised when using the internet at pre-school. However, the curriculum does not yet include teaching children how to keep themselves safe when using digital technology and the internet at home.
• The special educational needs coordinator makes timely referrals to agencies. She works collaboratively with a range of agencies. This helps staff plan the individual support needed for each child.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide children with enough time to process information and to answer questions
• strengthen supervisions to focus on developing staff's individual delivery of the curriculum
• help children gain an understanding of how to safely use the internet.