St George Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and excited to attend the pre-school. They are keen to find their friends and they settle quickly into play. Staff allow children to make their own choices about what they would like to play with. They provide a wide range of resources that motivate children to be engaged and spark their imaginations. Children are very imaginative; they giggle, change their voices and use plastic tubes to be their arms, when they pretend to be robots. All children behave well. They know the routines and rules for the pre-school. They listen well to staff and are able to take turns and share resources with other children. Older children are kind and considerate of the younger children. They help them to find activities that they want to take part in, when they are a little reluctant to do it alone. Children learn to cooperate and play well together. They work with their friends to make their own slide using the large construction toys in the garden.

During the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, staff adapted their procedures to ensure that parents are well informed about their children's learning and development. Parents are not currently going into the pre-school, so staff hold online meetings with parents to share their children's progress and to talk to them about what their children need to learn next.

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

• The leadership team and staff are ambitious and keen to give all children the best opportunities to learn. The team work well to meet their shared ambition. Staff evaluate their practice and take part in regular training to provide the children with a wide range of experiences and opportunities. For instance, staff have recently introduced woodwork sessions for the children to take part in, as a result of recent training in woodwork. Children have been learning how to handle tools safely and are given opportunities to plan and build their own creations.
• Partnerships with parents are strong and well established. Leaders and staff use effective methods to keep parents well informed about upcoming events and activities. Parents have opportunities to join family days where they go to the allotment with the children to take part in activities. Parents say that they are happy with the pre-school; they feel that the leaders and staff really care and are passionate about what they do.
• Staff know the children well. They work closely with children's parents to get to know children's needs and interests before they start attending the pre-school. Staff use children's interests to extend their learning. However, some staff need to be more confident at implementing the planning procedures and at recognising the opportunities that arise to engage children in play. On occasions, some staff do not notice when children need some support or encouragement with being involved in activities.
• Overall, staff support children's language well. They have conversations with children, share stories and ask children questions to support their understanding. However, some of the quieter children and those with limited language do not consistently get involved and staff do not realise when they need support with communicating their needs.
• Staff support children's physical development well. They encourage children to take risks and build their confidence and self-esteem. Children demonstrate control and skill as they ride the bicycles around the garden and climb in the low trees. Staff help children to be independent at meeting their own needs. Children learn to manage their own personal hygiene and they are able to recognise when they need to have drinks to cool them down.
• Children develop a love of stories and staff are skilled at reading to children in a way that excites them. Children listen intently and join in with storytelling when staff skilfully leave gaps to involve them in telling the story.
• Staff help children to have new experiences and to learn about their local environment. Children enjoy trips in their community. They have enjoyed caring for a plot in the allotment and making friends with residents at the local care home. During which, they have enjoyed taking part in music and story sessions.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to implement strategies to consistently support the quieter and less confident children to communicate their needs with staff
• provide staff with more support at implementing the planning procedures, to ensure that they are confident at engaging all children in play.