Squirrels Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive keen to start their day. They are greeted by happy attentive staff, who are genuinely pleased to see them. An individually tailored settling-in process, along with good partnerships with parents, means staff know the children well before they start. This ensures children are settled, confident and excited to attend. Children quickly busy themselves at a chosen activity. The management team are committed to provide good-quality teaching. The curriculum is planned to support children to develop skills they need to be independent learners and prepare them for a smooth transition to school. Activities provided are designed to build on what children already know, what interests them and includes termly themes, such as 'people who help us'. Children play in an inclusive environment. A variety of resources are easily accessible on open shelving and this encourages children to self-select and initiate their own learning.

Children have established close and trusting bonds with their key person. For example, they are keen to sit on staff laps as they enjoy stories. They confidently approach staff when they want reassurance or help. The staff are calm and reassuring role models and offer children praise for their efforts. Children understand the rules and expectations of the pre-school and generally play well together, showing kindness and concern for their friends. Therefore, overall children's behaviour is good.

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

• Children experience a broad curriculum that covers all areas of learning. Staff use children's interests to help establish what they need to learn next. There is a clear focus on children developing the skills they need to be independent learners. For example, children become good communicators as staff encourage and support them well to take care of their personal needs. Staff recognise the importance of these skills to support children's confidence and ensure a smooth transition to school.
• Outdoor learning is promoted throughout the year. Children relish their time outdoors and consideration is given to all areas of learning in the garden. This ensures those that prefer to play outdoors have the same opportunities. Children spend time mixing potions and making pies in the mud kitchen. They roll balls down drain pipes with skill into water. They learn to negotiate space well as they use ride-on toys. Children express themselves and their creativity as they use dressing-up clothes and instruments in the outdoor theatre.
• Staff have a clear comprehension of how children develop their conversation skills. Children show sustained concentration and interest at group story time. They eagerly interact with the familiar story about a 'super potato' and continue discussion about being kind when the story ends. Staff are skilful in capturing children's attention at this time and encourage conversations. On occasions, some staff do not ask questions to encourage children to think critically and give them time to respond.
• All children, including those who require additional support, make good progress from their starting points. The pre-school staff have a comprehensive knowledge of all the children attending and confidently discuss children's individual needs.
• Staff have high expectations for all children. There is a sharp focus on supporting their personal, social and emotional development. Through adult-led activities, children learn about emotions and the vocabulary they need to express their feelings. A quiet calm space is available for those who may need to sit quietly.
• Children's behaviour is good and they understand what is acceptable. They are polite and demonstrate good manners. Occasionally, some staff are too quick to intervene. This means children are not learning to negotiate with one another to establish a positive solution to a problem, for example, when working together or sharing toys.
• Parents speak highly of the nurturing staff. They comment their children have made very good progress since attending. They feel welcome and that they can contribute to their children's learning and comment that communication is good.
• Staff say they feel valued and that their welfare and their own professional development are considered during supervision and staff meetings. They have some opportunities to access training of their choice. However, the management team have not considered a more targeted approach to identifying staff's training needs to raise the quality of teaching to a consistently high level.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to improve the use of effective questioning skills to give children more time to think and respond to questions
• help staff to provide children with more opportunities to take responsibility for themselves and solve problems when negotiating how to share resources and resolve conflicts
• strengthen training opportunities for staff to ensure they are effective to raise the quality of teaching to an even higher level.