Shipton Bellinger Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy entering the pre-school. The gentle and friendly staff greet them, and children are quick to settle. Children engage well in play and make friends easily. They have a key person when they start at the pre-school who gets to know them very well. Children have a good relationship with staff and form a strong bond. This helps to support children's personal, social and emotional development well. Children clearly feel safe and secure. They behave well and listen to instruction from staff. Children show respect for both peers and staff.

Children learn to be independent learners, and this supports them to get ready for starting school. They know how to care for themselves and are confident enough to ask for help if needed, such as when they are learning to become toilet trained. Children self-select what they would like to eat for snack. They make healthy choices, such as choosing from a selection of fruit and vegetables provided at snack time. All children make good progress, including children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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

• Staff ensure that children have access to daily physical play, fresh air and exercise. They provide resources for children to experience physical skills, such as balancing on planks of wood between tyres and climbing on the climbing frame. Staff extend this learning and allow children to also develop their coordination. For example, they pour and scoop water in the water tray and use their imagination to build creations in the loose-parts area. Staff ask children about their creations and children show pride in their achievements. This also helps to develop children's communication and language skills. However, on occasion, particularly while outdoors, staff do not effectively deploy themselves to enable them to build on children's interests as well as they could.
• Staff identify that most children attending the pre-school are from military families. They have put strategies in place to support this and build on children's sense of self and self-esteem. For example, staff have put a map on the wall with photos of families and countries they are moving to. This helps children understand the world that they live in and the changes they may experience. Staff provide resources to extend this, such as military clothing for the dolls in the role-play area.
• Staff consistently evaluate the setting to ensure that children have the best learning experiences. This reflects in the good behaviour of children as they are always engaged in play. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They remind children of the rules of the pre-school, such as asking children whether they use running or walking feet inside. Staff extend this learning further to help children self-regulate their emotions. For example, they use an emotions board called 'the colour monster', using colours linked to emotions to express how they are feeling.
• Staff believe the manager is very supportive. They feel they can approach her at any time with a worry or concern. Staff say the manager supports their well-being and mental health, for example, she will spot when a staff member is not happy and is quick to try and resolve this. Staff have access to regular meetings, such as in a team to discuss the day, as well as individually with the manager to assess their professional development. Staff have constant access to training courses to help extend their early years knowledge further, providing the best outcomes for children.
• Parents are complimentary about the pre-school and say how their children are very happy. They explain how they receive regular feedback informing them of their children's progress. Parents say that if they ever need to discuss their children, they feel fully comfortable approaching staff, including the manager. They state that children with SEND are particularly supported. For example, they explain how staff attend meetings with outside professionals and schools to further support children with SEND and help with school transitions. Parents say they especially like how staff include them in activities such as a Father's Day tea and stay-and-play sessions. They believe this helps children to settle well into the pre-school life.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• coach and support all staff to review and adapt their practice to further extend children's interests, particularly outdoors.