St Edmunds Preschool Community Interest Company

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff welcome children warmly into this friendly pre-school. Children smile as they arrive and are eager to start the day and see their friends. They explore their environment with confidence and settle into their chosen activities. Staff form caring relationships with children and value them as individuals. They ensure they take time to get to know all children and their families well. This helps children feel safe and secure.

Staff encourage children to take turns as they play. For example, during sand play, children excitingly discuss making handprints and are encouraged to take turns to print their hands in the sand. Staff extend this well and encourage the children to make additional patterns. Older children confidently discuss the patterns they make. Younger children delight in making footprint patterns using toy dinosaurs and tigers. This motivates the children and encourages them to play nicely together. There is a strong focus on supporting children's communication and language skills. For example, staff talk to the children about what they are doing. They ask questions to encourage children to think and introduce new words, such as 'camouflage'. Staff sing with children and tell stories to extend their vocabulary and understanding. Children engage well as they listen to a story about baby owls and then share they thought the story was 'incredible'.

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

• The manager identifies clear priorities for the curriculum and children's future learning. Staff understand how this is implemented into practice. They skilfully engage in child-led play to enhance and extend children's learning. For instance, as children play with the play dough staff encourage them to squeeze and poke at the dough to strengthen their hands and fingers. Staff encourage children to develop new skills as they attempt to open packets, do up zips and eventually learn to hold a pencil correctly.
• Children thoroughly explore the outdoors. They pretend to ride cars in crates and balance along beams. Staff encourage children to be physically active as they copy actions, such as jumping off logs. Staff talk to children about how this affects their bodies, such as making their hearts beat faster. This helps children build an awareness of how their bodies function.
• Staff work closely with other professionals to support children. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. They receive one-to-one support from their key person who knows the children very well. As a result, they make good progress from their starting points in development.
• Overall, staff plan activities which support children's learning. They use these activities to introduce new ideas and additional vocabulary. However, there are times when staff include large numbers of children in these groups. This means some younger children receive less attention, lose focus and become disengaged and distracted from their learning.
• Children generally learn to behave well. They form friendships and show kindness towards each other. That said, there are times when some staff do not make their expectations clear enough for some children to understand. For example, although staff ask children to 'tidy up', they do not ensure all children help. Some children become boisterous and run around the room, continuing to play. As a result, children do not always gain an understanding of what staff expect of them at certain times of the day.
• Children are learning to care for themselves and have opportunities to practise their independence skills. For example, they wash their hands before mealtimes and know this is 'to get rid of the germs'. Staff encourage children to pour their drinks, open their sandwich boxes, and take the lid off their yoghurt pots.
• Parents share positive feedback about the care their children receive. They comment that staff go above and beyond for their key children's needs. Staff are respectful and value parents' wishes. They share regular updates on their children's learning to ensure they work collaboratively to support children's individual needs at home and at pre-school.
• Staff receive regular support and attend supervision meetings to discuss their professional development, key children and well-being. Staff say they are supported well by the manager. Staff regularly refresh mandatory training and understand how to keep children safe. They attend training to improve their practice. For example, they have attended a course on developing mathematics.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop the organisation of large group activities to maximise younger children's learning, engagement and participation.
• strengthen staff's teaching of behaviour boundaries so that children fully understand their expectations.