See-Saw Pre-School Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide a calm and settled environment, where children feel safe and secure. They are very alert to new children's individual needs and offer them an abundance of care and reassurance. This helps children to form strong bonds with staff and promotes their emotional well-being. Staff have clear expectations for behaviour. They are consistent with their approach to behaviour management, which is particularly important for new, younger children. Staff remind children about the importance of sharing, turn taking and friendly behaviour. This helps children to develop good social skills and understand what is expected of them.

The pre-school provides a broad and balanced curriculum that is ambitious for all children. Staff adapt the environment and their teaching to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They create smaller spaces within the room to support those children who need a quieter area. Children follow the daily routine well and know what is happening now and next. They work together at tidy-up time, using the dustpan and brush to clean the sand away. For children with SEND staff use objects of reference, such as water bottles and snacks, to help them understand there is a change in routine. This helps all children to develop the skills needed for the next stage in their learning.

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

• The pre-school staff have a good understanding of the different things they want children to learn. They provide children with a curriculum that helps them to make good progress and develop the skills they need for school. However, staff do not always implement children's individual next steps in learning during their play and interactions with them. This does not help children to build on their existing skills and knowledge more consistently.
• Support for children with SEND is well embedded. Staff monitor children's development closely and complete additional screening on their communication and language development. Any gaps in learning are addressed swiftly and targeted support is implemented. Timely referrals to outside agencies are made. This means children with SEND receive the support they need to make progress from their individual starting points.
• The provider uses additional funding, such as early years pupil premium, well. Children in receipt of the funding access one-to-one sessions with their key person. Staff purchase sensory equipment and resources that support children's special interests. This encourages children to engage in things that ignite their individual curiosity and helps to narrow the gaps in learning.
• Staff support children's communication and language development well. They engage children in conversation as they manipulate dough into shapes. Staff use words such as 'squeeze, squash', and 'fold' to extend children's vocabulary. They narrate as children play and encourage them to engage in back-and-forth conversations about what they are doing. Children are becoming confident and articulate communicators.
• Children have a lovely attitude to learning and are eager to entertain their friends. They stand up in front of the group and sing lengthy songs with a great degree of confidence. Children skilfully remember the words and use musical instruments to support them. Staff offer encouragement and praise, which boosts children's self-esteem and motivation to continue.
• The curriculum for mathematics is implemented well. Staff introduce words such as 'big' and 'full' to broaden children's mathematical language. They teach children to count with one-to-one correspondence during games they enjoy and, therefore, engage well with. Children use the number language they have learned when filling jugs during water play. This promotes children's mathematical development and increases their confidence with numbers.
• Parents are happy with the quality of care provided. Staff collect information from parents when children first start to help them plan accurate next steps in learning. They share information about children's development and how this can be extended at home. This provides continuity in children's learning and helps them to make good progress.
• Staff are happy and feel supported in their roles. The small team work well together and share good practice. They access professional development opportunities, such as training, and have supervision meetings. However, staff do not consistently receive feedback on their practice and targets to help strengthen their skills even further. Consequently, there are some minor inconsistencies in the quality of education.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to implement children's next steps more consistently during play and interactions
• provide staff with individual targets to strengthen their practice and raise the quality of education.