Saint Chad's Anglican Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet children warmly as they arrive at this highly inclusive and welcoming pre-school. They encourage children to share how they are feeling and use their interests to engage them quickly in play. This supports a calm and positive start to each session and sets the tone for the whole day. Staff carefully organise the spacious hall to offer an impressive range of engaging activities. For example, children are fascinated as they use magnets to find keys of different shapes and sizes hidden in sand. Children show very high levels of interest and enjoyment as they choose how and where they wish to play.

Leaders have an excellent understanding of the skills children need to be ready for school. Staff share this understanding and know the children in their care exceptionally well. This enables them to plan learning activities that are tailored to meet the needs and interests of individual children. Staff carefully monitor children's progress over time and are quick to identify any gaps in learning. They use highly effective and consistent strategies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). For instance, staff use visual cards to help children to communicate their needs and feelings. This ensures that all children are fully included and make excellent progress.

Staff work together exceptionally well to deliver consistent rules and routines. They have embedded a set of golden rules, such as reminding children to use 'walking feet' inside. Staff actively demonstrate what 'walking feet' means to ensure that all children understand what is expected of them. Staff use other strategies that help the pre-school to feel predictable for children, such as visual timetables. Children feel safe and secure in this calm and purposeful environment. This enables them to thrive.

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

• Leaders and staff are passionate about inclusion and provide exceptional support for children with SEND. They work tirelessly to secure additional support for children as quickly as possible. Staff receive appropriate training and are skilled at adapting their practice to support children's diverse needs. Over time, children with SEND make strong progress and are well prepared for their next stage of learning.
• Leaders ensure that additional funding is thoughtfully used to meet children's needs. For example, they have invested in balancing equipment for children that need extra support to build their core strength and coordination. Staff use the recent addition of a well-equipped sensory room to support children with sensory needs. This also provides a quiet space where staff work with children towards their individual goals.
• Staff share consistently high expectations for children's behaviour. They actively teach children how to share and manage their feelings. They use consistent strategies to help children to understand boundaries. Staff quickly and calmly provide appropriate support to help children to manage their behaviour. Leaders ensure that the outside area is open and available to children at all times. This is particularly supportive for children that find it easier to regulate their behaviour in an outdoor environment. Over time, children develop an understanding of why rules are important and make increasingly positive and respectful behaviour choices.
• Staff know their key children very well and adapt their teaching to meet individual children's next steps of development. This includes providing appropriate challenge in the curriculum for children that need this. For example, staff encourage older children to use the front cover of a book to discuss what the story might be about. This child-centred approach ensures that all children make excellent progress across the curriculum areas.
• Staff are excellent models of spoken English and understand how language develops over time. They interact with children warmly, narrating as they play and often incorporating songs and rhymes. Staff provide exceptional support to children with communication needs and those that speak English as an additional language, such as through the repetition of key vocabulary. Children develop into very confident communicators.
• Leaders and staff provide invaluable support to parents and families in their local community. They write newsletters that include ideas for home learning and provide information about services available to support families in need. Leaders ensure that they are always available and approachable. This enables families to reach out for support and benefit from their guidance and expertise. Parents share that staff go 'above and beyond' to care for their children and meet their individual needs.
• Leaders are incredibly committed to their roles. They are very well supported by the pre-school committee, and other local services, to ensure that they are continually improving. Leaders organise appropriate training for staff and offer high-quality feedback to support their professional development. Staff comment that they feel highly valued and part of an exceptionally supportive team.