St. Margaret's Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children skip confidently into the pre-school, greeted by the incredibly warm and nurturing staff, who they build strong attachments with. Children feel safe and a sense of belonging as they immediately hang up their bag, before finding their name card and self-registering. The indoor and outdoor environments are extremely inviting, and staff consider children's interests and next stages of learning when planning daily activities. For example, they encourage children transitioning to school to develop their independence, such as learning to get dressed for physical education and staff provide imaginative resources for them to practice with. Children are motivated and curious learners. They confidently identify an 'angler fish' in an underwater themed activity.

Children display excellent manners and play cooperatively with their peers. Fun-loving staff are regularly invited into children's play. Staff use these welcoming opportunities to sensitively reinforce the high expectations they have for children's behaviour. During a game of chase, some children decide they do not want to play anymore. When children continue chasing, staff calmly go down to their level and explain that their peers no longer want to play this game. Staff's gentle role modelling is effective as children listen and respond positively, by going on an exploration with their binoculars and magnifying glasses instead.

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

• Staff get to know children and their parents by providing a bespoke settling-in process and a robust key-person system. Because of this, children settle swiftly from the start. Ongoing communication and assessments support planning and ensure children make progress from their staring points. Staff offer regular progress meetings which parents report helps them consolidate, and further develop their children's learning and development at home.
• Skilful staff use real-life contexts to make learning fun and deepen children's knowledge. For example, staff encourage children to make a fist and knock on different objects. As a result, children begin to correctly identify plastic objects from the sound they make. This teaching is meaningful as children often show they are making connections in their learning. For instance, children tell staff that the balloon arch is a circle shape.
• Children make rapid progress in their speech and language development. Staff frequently read to children and provide opportunities for them to sing songs, and share their thoughts at daily, group time. The dedicated manager provides training opportunities to continuously raise the quality of teaching in this area.
• The manager and staff team embed a clear, inclusive curriculum that is ambitious for all children. Any gaps in children's learning are identified swiftly and support is put into place, so all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make significant progress and continuously have their needs met.
• Staff demonstrate their knowledge of how children learn and ask meaningful questions during a play dough making activity, to check their understanding. Occasionally, staff spend too much time asking questions, so children lose interest. This reduces their involvement in problem solving and testing out ideas that can extend their learning further.
• Children develop good hygiene routines and develop healthy lifestyles with consistently positive role modelling from staff. The manager and staff are passionate at ensuring children eat healthily and understand the importance of this. Parents involvement is integral, and they report how the abundance of support they have received from staff, has improved their children's overall well-being and healthy eating habits at home
• Staff teach children to understand the dangers of the sun as they independently dress appropriately for the weather. They put on their own suncream and hat before going outdoors to play. Staff motivate and encourage children to become increasingly independent when providing meaningful praise for their efforts and achievements.
• Staff champion children's individuality and know the right level of support to give individual children to achieve the best outcomes. Staff give achievable roles and responsibilities, such as handing out milk to their peers at snack. As a result, children develop kind behaviours and less confident children, feel empowered and build their self-esteem in a way which is comfortable for them.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the already good teaching and support staff to provide further opportunities for children to learn through trial and error and develop their problem-solving skills.