Saint Michael's Ark

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children make good progress and are happy and secure in this welcoming pre-school. Before children start, they receive photographs of staff members. This aids children in becoming familiar with staff, helping them to quickly settle. Further thoughtful procedures help children to feel welcome and give them a sense of belonging. For example, children enjoy looking at photographs of their families, finding comfort in this, and start to notice that all families are different. Children reflect the positive approaches and high expectations of the staff and persevere at tasks. For example, children develop their small-hand muscles and their creativity as they stretch coloured elastic bands around wooden pegs. They concentrate as they use each colour to 'make a rainbow pattern'.

Staff have a sensitive understanding of the possible effects of the COVID-19 national lockdowns. They kept in touch with families during these times, offering practical ideas for activities to try at home. Children are polite and caring. They show concern for one another and confidently and politely ask for help when needed. Children assess risks and work out how to keep themselves safe. For example, they decide that it is safer to lower the level of a wooden plank before walking across it.

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

• The manager is clear about what children need to learn next in order to make good progress and gain the skills to support their future learning. She supports staff well in assessing children and offering them play opportunities that help them take the next step in their learning. The manager's thorough understanding of each child aids her in making good use of additional funding to support children's development. The thorough monitoring of children's progress enables staff to quickly note any weaker areas in children's learning and to take action to address these.
• Staff report that they feel well supported. Their well-being is sensitively considered and they receive effective supervision that aids them in developing their practice further. Staff complete ongoing training. They share any new knowledge with their colleagues and use this to benefit children in developing, for example, creative role-play opportunities.
• Staff gently reinforce children's learning. For example, at the beginning of the day, children listen to a story about colours and emotions. They later play with coloured pom-poms and dough, remembering that blue signifies sad feelings.
• Staff talk clearly to children, repeating new words and ensuring children understand these. Children develop good communication skills. They explain their play, talking about how they mix paint and sand to make 'rainbow ice cream', for example. This sensitive staff support particularly aids children who speak English as an additional language. Consequently, the children make good progress in learning English.
• Staff note children's interests and use these well to help extend their learning. For example, children enjoy making cakes with sand. Staff build on this, and children visit a local shop to buy ingredients and later bake a cake.
• Parents speak positively about the pre-school. They praise staff's good communication and feel that children develop high levels of confidence. Staff provide practical information about activities and support parents well in building on these with their children.
• Staff work very well with other professionals, and this is a key strength of this pre-school. They ensure that all appropriate information is shared so that children's welfare and development are consistently promoted and they and their families receive pertinent support. This particularly aids children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and they make good progress.
• Staff are clear about the intention of activities. They generally support children well so that their development is promoted and they enjoy participating. However, on occasion, staff do not support children to think critically and to solve problems they encounter as they play.
• Children show a growing enjoyment of books. For example, they listen intently to the story at the start of the session. However, staff do not consistently support children to access books independently and to use and read these as part of their ongoing play.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to further enhance children's play. For example, through encouraging children to think critically and solve problems as they encounter them
• extend the support to children in engaging in books and stories.