South Bretton Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are welcomed to the setting by warm and friendly staff. Children demonstrate the good relationships they have with their key person. This is supported from the beginning of a child's journey at the setting, through a robust settling-in procedure. Staff place a strong emphasis on children's personal and social skills, encouraging children to remove their coats independently and to find their own name on the self-registration board. Children are kind to each other. They share resources and talk to each other, sharing ideas and games. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and provide clear boundaries and rules. Children listen carefully to staff, concentrate on the task in hand and have a positive attitude to learning.

Children experience outings to places in their local community. They enjoy visiting the park and the woodland area and have also taken a bus ride to local attractions. Staff provide children with a range of experiences to support their development ready for their next stage of learning.

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

• The manager provides a detailed and well-sequenced curriculum that is focused on children's communication and language development. They extend this further to prepare children for school and enable them to be confident and independent learners. The setting provides 'wonderful words' as part of the planned learning each week, introducing children to new vocabulary.
• Staff teach children respect and tolerance throughout a range of activities. For example, children learn to share and use their manners when talking to others. Staff support children's home language well. However, staff do not consistently teach children about different ways of life or celebrate children's religious and cultural events.
• Staff promote a love of reading at the setting. When children choose a story, staff sit down and read to them. They find a comfortable chair together and talk about the pictures in the books. Staff asks questions about the story, such as 'Where is he going?', to engage children and help them to think about what could happen next. Children respond enthusiastically and talk about what they see. Children also spend time looking at stories independently.
• Staff encourage children's mathematical development throughout activities. They encourage counting objects and sorting colours. When children demonstrate an interest in numbers, staff develop this further by looking at double- and triple-digit numbers and helping children to recognise numerals.
• Staff provide a routine for children where they access both adult-led and child-initiated play opportunities. However, at times, children's play is interrupted when they are called over for snack or to clean their teeth. On these occasions, children's learning is disrupted as they lose concentration and enjoyment of activities.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Staff make referrals to outside agencies quickly, and children receive additional help. Staff also put into place their own interventions to support children during the referral process, as well as guidance for parents and families. They work closely with other professionals and implement routines and actions for children to help them make progress. Staff regularly access training to improve their knowledge and skills. For instance, staff are currently working towards completing their British Sign Language training to support children's communication skills.
• Children learn about healthy eating and discuss the healthy and unhealthy foods in their lunch boxes. The setting is currently working towards the NHS dental accreditation, and staff take pride in the improvements and changes they have made so far. Children learn about the importance of oral health and are proud to share this learning at home with their family.
• Staff are very well supported. They share positive feedback about the support they receive from the management team and how valued they feel at the setting. The manager ensures that staff workload is not overwhelming, and they have made changes to their opening hours to give staff time to complete paperwork. Staff are very positive at the setting and enjoy their roles.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review daily routines to minimise disruption to children's learning and play so they can complete activities to their satisfaction
• support staff to help children gain an awareness of other cultures that develops their understanding of similarities and differences between themselves and others.