St Marys Treehouse

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish at the setting, where each child is treated as a unique individual. Children are warmly welcomed by all staff as they happily bound into the pre-school. Even children new to the pre-school settle in quickly. Children develop strong emotional attachments with their key person when settling into this wonderful pre-school. They wave goodbye to their parents and carers with confidence and demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. The children enjoy exploring the activities that are freely available, allowing them to make independent choices from the good-quality resources that are at their level.

Children behave well, as staff constantly demonstrate positive behaviours through good role modelling. They help to promote positive behaviour, offering age-appropriate explanations to aid children's understanding. Children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities have a curriculum that is tailored to their needs and make good progress. Children enjoy a wide range of activities. For example, they use sticks to make patterns in foam and paint the fence using brushes. This helps to develop children's physical skills and muscle control in preparation for early writing.

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

• Literacy is promoted well in the setting. Children eagerly listen to a story about a crocodile. They enthusiastically call out 'snap, snap, snap' when they see the crocodile and are excited to see what happens next. Staff introduce new vocabulary to children and ask them questions about the story. This helps support children to be confident communicators and to develop a real love of books.
• Overall, intentions for children's learning are understood by staff. Activities are interesting and engage groups of children in learning. However, staff do not always assess what support individual children need to further extend their learning. This means, at times, that children's learning is not always extended.
• Care practices are good. Staff provide younger children with lots of opportunities to serve themselves at snack and lunchtime. They talk to children about the importance of eating a healthy diet and support them when they need help. This encourages children to become increasingly independent.
• Staff weave mathematical concepts throughout children's play and at routine times of the day. They develop children's understanding of number and help them to recognise a small total when counting. Children make simple calculations. They work out the total when one more value is added, counting the eyes on a face made of play dough, for example. Children are developing a knowledge of different mathematical concepts.
• The managers motivate staff to continually research and develop their understanding of how children learn. Leaders show clear ambition and passion for their role and the future of the setting. They hold regular meetings to discuss and evaluate how they want to develop the setting. This means that the setting is constantly adapting to meet the needs of children.
• Leaders provide many opportunities for children to explore inclusion and diversity. Children learn about different faiths and cultures. They explore different festivals and special events, including Eid Mubarak and the queen's jubilee. This helps children to develop an understanding of the world around them.
• The curriculum for physical development is ambitious. Children visit the local park where they enjoy running and climbing and exploring the equipment. They also experience trips to the local leisure centre for a swimming activity. This builds up the children's confidence in the water and strengthens their core muscles, balance, and coordination.
• Partnership working is strong. Parents speak very positively of the pre-school. For example, they comment that 'the pre-school focuses on their development' and 'they are given the freedom to play.' The pre-school staff work closely with staff at school to support children with their transition. These partnerships help to provide a consistency of care for children.
• Home learning is promoted by using a 'take home bear'. Parents and children are asked to complete a diary for the bear and take photographs. The bear is also used as an emotional support for children who are transitioning. This helps children to develop their social and emotional development as they go through changes.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff understanding of the support individual children need in order to extend children's learning even further.