St Catherine's Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this nurturing pre-school. They enter with smiles and are greeted by the caring team. Children are excited to explore the vast array of carefully crafted activities, that have been planned to meet their individual needs. They engage in creative activities that support their strength and coordination. Children build enclosures for animals using blocks. Staff engage in conversation with children and teach them about the animals. Children know that they need to build a tall structure for a giraffe. They learn that giraffes have long necks so that they can reach up to eat leaves from tall trees. Children enjoy developing their mark-making and counting skills. They search for animals in the outdoor environment and record them on a tally chart.

Staff and managers get to know children and families very well. Children develop positive relationships with their key person. This helps them to settle quickly and feel safe. Children confidently follow the rules and routines. They share these with others to help them understand what to do. For instance, children explain that it is important to count how many are in their group, so that they are safe in the event of a fire. Children invite others into their play and share resources harmoniously. They speak with kindness and demonstrate care and consideration towards one another.

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

• Children are immersed in a curriculum that has been meticulously designed to support them to practise and master new skills. Staff work together to plan a broad range of activities that link to a theme. For instance, while learning about animals, they practise counting their features and clap out the syllables in their names. Staff support children to develop their concentration in preparation for school. They sit and take turns to listen to clues about animals and demonstrate pride when they name them correctly.
• Communication and language development is prioritised and is weaved into all activities in this pre-school. Children develop a strong love of books. They sit together with friends to look at stories, exploring the textures and talking about the pictures. Staff share weekly stories and rhymes to teach the development of new vocabulary through repetition. Children enjoy sharing stories with their families at home, bringing them back and exchanging them when they have finished.
• Staff and managers are passionate about creating an environment that embraces the differences between children and families. They share stories that celebrate children's individuality and teach them that they all look different but that they are all special. Staff get to know about children's early experiences and use this to further expand on children's knowledge of the world. For example, visitors bring goats in to meet the children. This allows children to learn about animals that are new to them.
• Staff and managers are passionate about making a positive difference to the lives of all children. They respond in a timely manner to any concerns about the development of children and communicate sensitively with parents. Staff and managers deliver appropriate intervention. As a result, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make good progress from their starting points.
• Children are confident independent learners. They practise putting on their own coats when they go outside and make choices about what they would like to eat at snack times. Staff talk to children about the importance of hygiene as they eat. Children learn about the importance of good oral hygiene. They talk about water being a healthy drink to have in their bottles and practise brushing the teeth of crocodiles.
• Parents speak with great fondness for the staff and managers at this setting. They feel that they become part of a large family. Staff and managers are passionate about building positive relationships with parents. Parents receive regular feedback about their child's progress and the activities that they take part in while at pre-school. This helps parents to become partners in their children's learning.
• Leaders and managers are committed to supporting the development and well-being of the pre-school team. Staff attend regular training to enhance their knowledge and skills. Staff and managers work collaboratively to evaluate their practice and reflect on the learning that takes place in the setting. Regular supervision opportunities support staff to share their experience and discuss their practice. However, feedback from managers does not always focus fully on how staff can improve their teaching further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus staff supervision more precisely, to help raise the quality of teaching to the highest level across the pre-school.