St. Marks Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy when they arrive and are eager to go into pre-school to play. Children have access to a wide variety of resources and staff provide interesting activities that spark children's interests. Children eagerly dig for 'dinosaur bones' together and make roads in the sand pit. Older children demonstrate good focus and concentration as they paint pictures of the flowers that staff display. Children are kind and considerate; they listen and follow rules well. For instance, children sit nicely and remain calm as they handle the ducklings and talk about how to care for them.

Children talk about sharing with their friends as they recall that 'sharing is caring'. They confidently choose from the toys independently and involve their friends in their games. Children have good, secure relationships with the staff who care for them. They confidently talk about their interests and ask questions to help with their understanding. For instance, staff show children how dentists use mirrors to look at their teeth, after children show interest in what a dentist is. Overall, children behave well. Staff support children to learn about their feelings and to express themselves appropriately.

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

• The manager and committee provide staff with good support to ensure that they can carry out their roles and responsibilities effectively. Staff report that they have regular team meetings, supervisions and training to help them to provide children with the support that they need. The team are ambitious and keen to improve. They have recently developed the garden to provide children with resources and equipment to develop their physical skills. Children confidently use the bicycles to ride around obstacles and enjoy climbing and balancing on the equipment.
• The manager and staff provide an ambitious curriculum that is implemented well throughout the pre-school. Staff have a clear vision of what they want children to learn and they provide support so that all children can make progress in their learning. However, at times, staff do not ensure that some of the more capable children are offered more challenge to make even better progress in their learning.
• Staff use their knowledge of children and their development well. They identify children that need extra support and provide them with an adapted curriculum to close the gaps in their development. Staff work closely with other professionals to ensure that children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive the support that they need.
• Key-person systems are strong and well established. Staff know the children well and they work closely with children's parents to support children's individual needs. Parents speak highly of the pre-school; they report that their children are happy and that staff fully involve them in their children's learning. Parents report that they particularly enjoy seeing photos of what their children have been doing at pre-school. Parents are invited into the pre-school to share their skills with the children and to offer support for more complex activities, such as woodwork sessions and gardening activities.
• Staff are skilled at supporting children's communication and language skills. They use good methods to encourage children to think and to use new words to extend their vocabulary. Staff provide additional support for children who speak English as an additional language. For instance, they learn words in children's home languages to help them to communicate their needs. However, at times, some of the more quiet, less confident children struggle to be involved in group activities due to the more confident children speaking out.
• Staff support children to have a positive approach to learning. They demonstrate confidence and independence as they explore and play with their peers. Younger children develop a love of stories; they happily share books with their friends as they use the pictures to tell the story. Older children confidently use books to find out information.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to develop planning to ensure that all children are challenged in their learning, so that they achieve to the highest level
• strengthen the organisation of group activities so that all children, including those who are more quiet and less confident, can be more involved.