Shipston Pre School CIC Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children receive excellent care and education in this highly inclusive setting. All children are valued and celebrated. The manager and staff work exceptionally hard to understand and meet children's needs. Policies and procedures are in place, known and closely followed by all staff to ensure that children are safe. Staff complete regular refresher training to keep their knowledge and skills constantly up to date.

Children are extremely happy and content. Staff greet them with smiles on arrival and children confidently enter the setting. The staff know children exceptionally well and carefully plan the provision to match their interests and needs. Children enthusiastically make choices of what they would like to play with and invite staff and friends to join them. Children follow the rules of the setting. Staff support them to do good listening, good looking, good sitting and to use 'gentle hands'.

The manager and staff work together to design a meticulously focused curriculum. There is a key emphasis on high-quality interactions between staff and children. This supports children's communication and language skills, along with their personal, social and emotional development. Staff play alongside children, model the language of play and support children's understanding using sign language and pictures. Carefully planned small-group times further support this.

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

• The manager and staff have a clear understanding of the impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic on children's learning and development. They are currently taking part in a COVID-19 recovery initiative to help bridge any gaps in children's learning. They constantly reflect both as a team and individually on their practice. Furthermore, they seek the views of parents and other professionals to improve outcomes for children.
• Staff complete regular assessments of children. They meet with parents termly to share children's progress and highlight next steps in their development. Staff quickly identify any gaps in children's learning. They work in partnership with parents to bridge these gaps, offering suggestions for home learning.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) provides exceptional support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). She works in close partnership with parents, the local inclusion service and a wide range of other professionals. Funding is sought and used to provide additional staffing and resources to support individual children's needs. Parents of children with SEND value the support and guidance both they and their children receive. They appreciate the additional help the SENCo has organized to support a smooth transition to the next stage of their children's education.
• Parent partnerships are extremely strong. Parents talk about how staff keep them fully informed about their children's progress and describe how lucky they feel to have found the setting. Parents enthuse about the staff and the care and education they provide. They talk about how their children love attending, especially enjoying the opportunities to learn outdoors. They describe staff as being unconditionally supportive, nurturing and approachable, like an extended family.
• Children thrive in this setting. Staff ensure that children have access to a wide range of quality resources to promote development in all areas. Free-flow play enables children to access the superbly equipped outdoor provision for a large proportion of their day. Staff provide activities to challenge children's physical development and build their large-muscle skills. This helps to promote children's physical and mental health and well-being.
• Staff promote a love of books. Children snuggle up with staff and enjoy stories. They independently choose to share books with visitors and their friends as they play. Furthermore, staff build excitement as they engage children in interactive group story time sessions. Children join in with familiar books. They enthusiastically go on bear hunts in the garden as they act out their favourite stories.
• Leadership and management are exceptionally strong. The manager goes above and beyond to ensure that children receive the best possible care and education. She follows robust recruitment procedures to ensure that she finds the right staff. She closely monitors the provision and has high expectations of staff. She continually encourages staff to reflect on their practice. She proactively seeks additional training to improve all staff knowledge and skills.
• The manager has ambitious plans to extend the provision in the future. She strives to continually improve the provision and shares this passion with her team. Clear communication during daily discussions and weekly meetings enables staff to review what they do, to ensure that children make the best possible progress.