Smiles Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children develop warm, trusting and respectful relationships with staff and their friends at the pre-school. Staff create a happy and safe environment for children. They take the time to get to know children, and cater for their individual interests and care needs well. This helps to support all children, including the youngest, to settle happily. As result of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents cannot always come into the pre-school. Staff have changed how they share information with parents, to continue to inform and involve parents in supporting children's learning at home.

Children behave well and are polite and courteous when talking to staff and their peers. Children play cooperatively and take turns with toys and resources. They share ideas, taking account of the differing views of their friends. For instance, as they play football, they talk about the best way to kick the ball to score a goal. The manager and her staff create an interesting and varied curriculum for children. Children are keen to learn. When new activities present them with challenge, staff help them to keep on trying to successfully master new skills. For instance, children practise using different types of scissors as they confidently learn to cut tape. Staff use additional funding well to address any gaps in children's learning. This has helped children to catch up in their learning and contributes to the good progress they make.

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

• The manager and her staff have worked hard to address the weakness identified at the previous inspection. The manager has reviewed and implemented effective training, supervision and coaching for her staff to successfully address the quality of teaching. Staff comment on the positive impact of the manager's precise feedback about their practice, to help make improvements in their teaching and interactions with children. Staff teaching is good.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Staff work closely with parents and carers to share a range of information about children's care and progress. Parents say that staff share children's achievements and suggest ideas of how they can continue to support children's learning at home. For instance, staff offer suggestions and resources to help parents with potty-training their children.
• Staff place a strong focus on supporting children's communication and language skills. They identify and put in place support for younger children, who need additional help to catch up with their speaking and attention skills. Children enjoy activities as they practise sounding out words and develop good levels of concentration, in age-appropriate ways. This supports the good progress that children make in being confident in their conversations with staff and each other.
• Staff create an exciting variety of learning experiences, which inspire children's creative play. For instance, older children use junk modelling boxes, scissors, glue and pens to create their own 'unicorns'. Staff use this opportunity for them to strengthen their hands and fingers in readiness for writing. Staff teach most-able children to hold pens correctly as they write their names on labels to identify their individual creations. These skills help to prepare children well for their next stage in learning, including starting school.
• Children benefit from a variety of opportunities to learn about the benefits of healthy lifestyles. Staff have worked successfully with families to support children's healthy lunch choices. Children enjoy active play. They relish opportunities to learn how to hula hoop and play football with their friends.
• The manager regularly evaluates the pre-school to identify changes that can be made to benefit the children that attend. Recent changes to the way that staff observe and assess children's progress are not yet fully embedded. The manager recognises the need to extend staff's plans for children's next steps in learning, to focus more precisely on what they want children to achieve next.
• The curriculum for mathematics is woven throughout all areas of learning. However, staff miss opportunities to extend the knowledge that older and most-able children have, to help develop a greater understanding of shape, measure and space when opportunities arise in their play.
• Children behave well. Staff are good role models and treat children with kindness and respect. Children listen to staff and follow the instructions they give well. For instance, as children navigate ride-in cars outside, staff help them take turns in going in different directions. Children learn to wait and take turns with their friends respectfully.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus more precisely on the skills and knowledge children need to learn next to consistently help maximise their learning
• enhance the curriculum for mathematics and give older and most-able children consistent opportunities to explore numbers and mathematical concepts.