St Helens Pre School (Brentwood) LTD

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders identify children's needs quickly and accurately. Staff use regular observation and assessment to recognise when children may be at risk of falling behind their peers and identify areas where children need additional support. Leaders work closely with parents and professionals to organise targeted support for children that helps them make progress from their start points. For example, they use specific engagement activities to help children to concentrate and interact with their friends. Trained special educational needs coordinators have grounded knowledge of their role and responsibilities. They have developed effective partnerships with the local authority to further develop training and support for staff including how to support children who have speech and language delays to make progress. This leads to successful delivery of learning experiences that promote children's progress.

Leaders want the very best for children. They ensure that they use funding to close gaps for children and remove barriers to learning. Recent changes include monitoring of how funding is used and the impact on children's learning and development. Leaders and staff meet regularly with parents to review progress and discuss targets. Parents value the support and expertise the setting offers. They complement staff for how well supported they feel as parents as well as the progress their children are making.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders design a curriculum that prepares children well for the next stage in their education. They have identified the essential skills and knowledge children need to be successful learners. Children engage in a range of learning experiences. For example, they engage in lively conversations, sharing their ideas and experiences as they 'pack their suitcase and head for the village'. The youngest children are encouraged to learn through their senses, such as playing peek a boo and exploring damp sand. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported through adaptations to teaching, ensuring that all children access the curriculum equally.

Staff use assessment to establish what children already know and can do. They plan learning experiences to build on this. However, on occasion next steps in learning are too broad and do not consider the underlying skills children need to make rapid progress. For example, some next steps focus on outcomes such as using two-word phrases but do not include the social interaction and engagement that children need to achieve this.

Staff support children to feel safe and secure. They prioritise children's personal routines ensuring their individual care needs are met. From a young age children are supported to develop essential physical skills which lead to mastery and confidence including crawling and walking. Staff use broad vocabulary as part of their everyday teaching including mathematical language such as big and small.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children make steady progress from their starting points. They showcase their developing communication and language skills as they engage in imaginative play and hold sustained conversations with staff and friends. Younger children show delight in reading with adults. They show independence in a range of tasks and show resilience to overcome difficult challenges such as using taps on water containers with required skill.

The youngest children show their growing physical skills such crawling and walking. Older children confidently balance on planks, developing their ability to manage risk and challenge positively. Children get along well with and enjoy playing with others. They also feel secure to engage in individual tasks that require concentration and focus. They are developing essential social skills such as empathy and kindness.

Children count confidently and recognise coloured blocks. They fill and empty containers and hear rich mathematical language. However, the teaching of mathematics is not always supported with examples to help children connect the language with what they see and experience.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders have set high expectations for children's behaviour. Children are supported to develop positive attitudes to learning and play. Staff use a consistent approach with regard to expectation such as how to use resources safely and with respect. They act as positive role models and demonstrate positive choices such as sharing and being patient. This helps children to play well with others.

Children manage feelings and emotions with support from trusted staff. When they feel overwhelmed, children are supported by kind and caring staff who help them to successfully manage their feelings and promptly return to play. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to their learning have personalised support plans that help them stay engaged in learning. For example, children are supported to make choices about where they access learning, such as outside where they feel calm and relaxed.

Children have secure attachments with their key person. They receive warm and attentive care that enables them to feel safe and enjoy their learning. Leaders have worked hard to establish expectations for children's attendance and punctuality. They are aware of the families who access their services and their needs. For example, they offer flexible breakfast times for children who arrive later in the morning because of home routines.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders ensure that they fulfil their roles and responsibilities with the early year's foundation stage. This includes safeguarding arrangements and robust policies and procedures that are followed by staff. Children show happiness and a sense of belonging. They have secure attachments with staff because of the effective key person arrangements. Staff know children well and tailor teaching to meet their interests and learning styles. This includes recognising children who learn best outside and those who need extra support such as children who are learning English as an additional language.

Children are encouraged to manage their personal needs such as hygiene practices and managing their packed lunches. Leaders promote healthy approaches to food by sharing information with parents that supports healthy choices and children's oral health. Children know and understand the daily routines and as a result transitions are seamless. Younger children receive warm and responsive care during sensitive times such as intimate hygiene and sleep routines. Staff speak gently to them and place them safely on their backs. They provide an attentive watch over them until they wake. This ensures that children experience safe and secure care. Younger children experience positive examples of co-regulation such as cuddles and comforting words. Older children become familiar with a range of words that help them to describe feelings. As a result, children express themselves well and successfully regulate their behaviour.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders who are fairly new to their roles have made significant changes to the provision. They use effective self-evaluation to identify areas for development including how staff use assessment and how additional funding is used to best support children to close gaps in learning. Leaders and staff are supported by those with oversight and governance, including regular supervision and checks on wellbeing.

Leaders have developed robust processes to drive improvements in teaching, including staff supervision and professional development opportunities. Training for staff is considered and supports improvements in curriculum and teaching. For example, staff attend specific training that support their work with babies. This ensures that children receive tailored support for their needs. However, scrutiny of next steps for children does not always identify where staff need additional support to ensure teaching matches children identified needs. This means that whilst the curriculum is typically taught well, there are some minor inconsistencies in how well teaching is matched to what children need to learn next.

Leaders have developed essential partnerships with parents and professionals. Regular communication and sharing of key information ensure that all children are supported in the most beneficial ways, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who face barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. This includes helping children to settle quickly when they start at the setting and preparing them for the transition to school.