Sidemoor Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children feel safe and secure within the setting. Staff build strong relationships with children, they take time to get to know the children before they start. This enables children to settle quickly into their day. Most children demonstrate positive attitudes. Occasionally, when children need support with their behaviour, staff take the time to help children to understand how to be kind and share resources with their friends. This approach has a positive impact on how children respect and treat one another.

Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents are extremely complimentary about their experience at the pre-school. They state that their children love attending and make good progress. Parents comment that their children's personal and emotional development is supported, and staff work with parents to ensure children are ready to transition to their next stage of learning. For example, they offer a weekly PE session. Children are encouraged to bring a PE kit to enable them to learn how to dress and undress themselves. Parents feel fully involved in their children's learning. They also discuss the sense of community that they feel within the setting.

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

• Staff promote personal hygiene within the setting. Children are encouraged to independently wash their hands before snack. They know what is expected of them and, with some assistance, are able to complete this. Children learn about oral hygiene. They practise brushing the teeth on a toy mouth. Children express how they do this at home and put toothpaste on their toothbrush.
• Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, they use signs and visual aids to support children's communication and language and offer one-to-one support when needed. Staff work in partnership with parents and a range of outside agencies to ensure that the children receive tailored support to meet their needs. Together, they set individual targets, and these are reviewed regularly to ensure that all children make good progress.
• Staff plan the curriculum through the interests of the children. Overall, they plan activities well. However, on some occasions, group activities are not as well organised. For example, children become distracted during their snack, as other children are playing musical instruments and singing, causing the volume of noise within the room to be distracting for others.
• Children have countless opportunities to develop their physical skills. They enjoy free flow access to the outside area throughout the day. For example, children ride bikes, make 'food' in the mud kitchen and build with large wooden blocks. Children show a keen interest in the natural world. For example, children were curious about what rabbits may eat and where they would sleep, while they were making 'meals' in the outside kitchen. They discuss how they are going to make food for the toy rabbit.
• Children engage with staff during their play. They are inquisitive and keen to learn. For example, children re-tell the story of 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' and scream with excitement as they run away from the 'bear', asking staff, what happens next? However, staff do not always allow time to develop children's language and communication skills, especially for children who speak English as an additional language.
• Staff speak highly of the management team. They feel supported with their well-being and have an open-door policy with management. Staff say they enjoy working at the pre-school. They are provided with suitable opportunities for training and supervision to enhance their practice.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review organisations of the day to help children to concentrate and focus on activities, avoiding unnecessary noise levels
• support staff to further develop children's communication and language skills, particularly those who speak English as an additional language.