St Alban's Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children have a good start to their education at the pre-school. They are happy and safe. Children have positive relationships with staff, which helps children to feel settled and secure. They cannot wait to share their accomplishments, such as drums they have designed, with staff. Children show great pride in their achievements. Praise from staff helps to build children's self-esteem.

Children learn about the world around them through a variety of experiences. For example, children discover different animals and explore nature at a local farm. Children regularly communicate with residents at a local nursing home, supporting children's understanding of others. The pre-school often takes part in fundraising work for local charities, in collaboration with the on-site school. Children develop a strong sense of community as they learn the importance of helping others.

Children join in enthusiastically with activities. For example, they learn about rhythm and pattern as they bang on their own drums. Children are encouraged to problem solve as they hear clues in a guessing game. Staff know children well and set high expectations for children's learning. This helps children's knowledge and skills to develop over time. Children behave well. Songs and rhymes are used as a tool to promote positive behaviour. For example, children sing the 'circle song' as they make a circle and sit down for group activities.

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

• Staff know exactly where children are up to in their learning. They regularly reflect on children's progress to help them to identify what children need to learn next. The well-rounded and balanced curriculum helps children to make strong progress.
• Children's independence is promoted well. They go to the toilet independently and wash their hands skilfully. Children know they need to put aprons on when they play in water and do so without prompting. This helps children to gain the independence skills they need for the next stage in their education.
• Excellent partnerships with the on-site school promote a seamless transition as children move to reception. Children occasionally visit the school to join assemblies and watch performances, helping them to become familiar with the environment. Teachers visit the pre-school to get to know children before they move across, helping children to feel comfortable and settled when they move.
• The manager is passionate and committed to providing quality education for children. She uses her wealth of experience to support the staff team to fulfil their roles. The manager identifies opportunities for staff to improve their knowledge and encourages staff to undertake relevant training. This helps to ensure experiences for children continually improve.
• Although children behave well, occasionally boundaries are not shared with children in order to promote their positive behaviour. For example, when listening to a story, children become excited. They talk over staff who are reading. This means some children do not hear the whole story, hindering their ability to fully take part in the activity.
• Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is highly effective. Children are identified quickly and the special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator (SENDCo) works closely with the local authority to source additional advice and support for children. Additional adults support children, which has a positive impact on their development. Children with SEND are able to fully access the curriculum and achieve great success in their early learning.
• The pre-school does not always effectively collect information about children from parents. Staff are not always fully aware of children's cultures and other languages that children speak. This means that the pre-school is not able to fully celebrate children's diversity and provide support for children who speak English as an additional language.
• Parents are very happy with the pre-school. They praise the friendly staff team and the daily communication they receive. Children take home books each week from a lending library and a teddy often accompanies children home. This helps to promote strong partnerships and continuity of learning between home and pre-school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consistently share boundaries with children, so that they understand what is expected of them at all times
• strengthen how information is collected from parents about children's culture and languages spoken, so that these can be shared and promoted within the pre-school.