St Michael's Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children happily walk up the path to this family focused pre-school. They talk excitedly about their day and settle immediately to explore the activities set out for them. Staff promote children's interests well. They plan experiences based on children's individual needs. Staff ensure the curriculum is well designed to support gaps in learning and promote children's mathematical skills effectively. For example, children ask for 'half' or a 'quarter' of milk at snack time. They hold up number cards to show their friends how many spaces there are available at the table. Staff encourage children to tell the time. Children call out excitedly that there are only 'three minutes' until they get ready for lunch.

Staff promote children's health and hygiene successfully. Children enjoy listening to stories about brushing their teeth and exploring resources to help keep their gums healthy. This supports children's developing self-care skills well. Staff promote children's literacy skills effectively. They use sign language to help children to communicate. Children enjoy matching letters to sounds in their names. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. They provide additional sessions to help support children's physical skills. Children who needed support to walk are now confident movers.

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

• Children benefit from interactions with staff, who encourage them to be unique. Staff provide mirrors for children to celebrate what makes them special and to be proud of themselves. Staff invite parents in to share different cultures and traditions. This helps to develop children's positive self-image and confidence.
• Staff encourage children to be kind. 'Special Helpers' help their friends to find their name cards. Everyone joins in to clap and cheer when celebrating achievements. However, on occasion, staff do not make the most of opportunities to talk to children about the impact their behaviour has on others.
• Staff plan a meaningful and motivating curriculum based on children's interests. For example, children spend a long time playing 'hairdressers'. Staff skilfully extend this interest to support children to practise their scissor skills, cutting different hairstyles into play dough models. This supports children's imaginations well.
• Staff promote children's language skills effectively. They successful build on the excellent support they offered parents during the national lockdown, to help parents support reading at home. Children regularly visit the local library, sharing books with their families and friends. Staff read engaging stories to children to help develop a love of reading. Older children learn letter sounds to promote their literacy.
• Children benefit from opportunities to learn together. For example, when asked what they all need to wear when playing outside in the rain, they eagerly call out, 'waterproofs'. However, at times, younger children are not as fully engaged in larger group activities. Staff do not always recognise when they could support younger children more fully during these times.
• Children with SEND benefit from the attention of passionate staff, who are proactive in supporting their needs. Staff have developed a sensory space to ensure children have somewhere quiet and calm to which to retreat. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is instrumental in forging positive relationships with the local community and pre-schools, to support staff's practice. Children with SEND make very good progress.
• Leaders and managers are enthusiastic and committed to ensuring they offer high-quality provision for children and families. They actively seek out additional funding to develop the environment. For example, children enjoy exploring the 'super-hero' den outside, created after receiving a community grant. Leaders and managers access very good support from the wider organisation to support ongoing practice. Staff appreciate the strong focus on their well-being.
• Communication with parents is strong. Parents talk incredibly highly of the warm and welcoming staff. They appreciate the opportunities they have to join in. They report that their children have made very strong attachments to staff and that their children have made excellent progress in their confidence, communication and social skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• encourage staff to support children to understand how their behaviour and actions can impact upon others
• strengthen support for staff to identify when the youngest children need more support to be fully engaged in large group learning times.