South Normanton Pre-School CIC

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are supported to understand and talk about feelings and emotions. For instance, staff read them stories about coloured monsters and how their colour reflects how the monster is feeling. Children recognise that a yellow monster is happy and, when asked, children confidently tell staff that their mummies and daddies make them happy. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well by the manager and staff. For example, they put targeted plans in place to help them develop. Children with SEND have opportunities to access a sensory room, which provides them with a calm space to help them regulate their emotions. Staff support children to understand words that describe quantity, for example when they play with water. When children transfer water from one container to another, staff help them to learn when there is 'more' and 'less'.

Children enjoy being physically active in the pre-school garden. Staff play games with children that encourage them to share, such as when they kick balls. For instance, staff use language such as 'my turn' and 'your turn'. Children are offered resources to support their differing abilities, including to develop the strength and coordination in their legs. This includes providing ride-on toys that younger children can push along with their feet. Older children have opportunities to pedal when they ride on tricycles.

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

• The manager supports staff with their interactions with children and their well-being. Staff attend in-house training to build on their knowledge of how to develop children's learning, for example strengthening their skills to identify and help close gaps in children's speaking skills.
• Children learn skills for the future, such as to be independent. For example, in the room for two-year-olds, staff help children to put on their coats and ask them to push their arms in. In the pre-school room, staff ask children to put on coats and shoes by themselves.
• The manager and staff visit children in their homes prior to them starting. This helps children to become familiar with staff and for staff to form relationships with children and their families. Staff find out from parents about children's interests and provide for these when they first attend. These strategies help children to settle well.
• The manager and staff share information with teachers about children's development, friendship groups and any additional needs they may have. This contributes to promoting children's care and learning when they move on to school. However, staff do not share or gather information about children's care and learning from staff at other nurseries that some children also attend.
• Therefore, they are not able to provide the same level of consistency for all children who attend other early years settings.
• Staff give children gentle reminders to use good manners. For example, when children want staff to read them a story, staff remind them to say 'please'. Children repeat the words and learn how to be polite.
• Staff implement a daily routine for children to follow. For example, when children arrive in the morning, they understand to sit on the carpet in the pre-school room until others have arrived. However, occasionally during some routines, such as before lunchtime, staff do not support children in the pre-school room to listen and follow instructions. This results in some children not completing tasks when they are asked, such as tidying away toys.
• Parents comment that the pre-school is like a 'second home' for their children. They appreciate the information they receive from staff about their children's development.
• Staff observe and assess children's abilities. They use this information as well as information about children's prior learning from parents to help identify jointly with parents what children need to learn next. This shows good partnership working to support children's development. Staff support parents to continue children's learning at home. This includes offering them books to borrow to encourage them to read to their children, contributing to supporting children's language skills.
• The manager uses additional funding that some children receive effectively. For instance, money is used to provide some children with transport to the pre-school so they can attend regularly.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to share and gather information from all other early years settings the children also attend to help provide consistency in their care and learning
• organise some routines of the day more effectively to help children in the pre-school room to listen and follow instructions.