St Nicholas Church Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children happily enter the friendly pre-school, keen to learn. They gain good independence, carrying their bags and finding their named pegs. Children have numerous opportunities throughout the day to practise self-care. For example, when children decide to play outside, they confidently find their coats and make good attempts to put them on independently.

There is a broad curriculum that provides children with opportunities across all areas of their learning. Attentive staff interact well with the children to help them build on previous learning. For example, they provide children with opportunities to build with wooden blocks before challenging them further to build with blocks that link together. Children create well, testing their ideas for example to build a dinosaur. They confidently talk about what they need and how to fix the pieces together to make the legs. Children demonstrate a positive attitude to their learning and show commitment to fulfilling their design.

Children develop good communication and language skills. They talk confidently about their creations, such as how they are making pig faces in the play dough. They link their experiences well, showing a good understanding of the traditional story they have shared. Children enjoy the story and listen well. They respond to questions, complete sentences and predict what might happen next. Staff model language well, helping children, including those with English as an additional language, to broaden their vocabulary.

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

• The flexible and balanced curriculum is well designed and understood by staff. Staff know the children well, making regular observations and assessing their progress accurately. Staff understand the additional support children need following the COVID-19 pandemic and provide many opportunities for social interaction and to promote self-care and independence.
• Once staff have all the information about a child, including those with additional or special educational needs and/or disabilities, they support their individual needs. They carefully consider how to spend additional funding to help children progress. However, staff do not always gather information from parents and other early years settings children attend when they first start. They are not persistent in requesting information from other early years settings to help influence the experiences they offer children.
• Staff reflect well on the provision for children. They carefully consider the learning environment, making changes when necessary to ensure that children remain engaged in their learning. The environment is well organised to encourage children to make choices about their play.
• Children have a good understanding of daily routines and expectations. For example, staff use sign language and visual aids to ensure that children understand what is happening now and what is happening next. However, on occasion, staff interrupt children when they are immersed in their play to change nappies and do not help them re-engage in their learning.
• Children behave well and build strong friendships. They are kind to each other. Staff use their training and research well to help children understand expectations, using appropriate strategies to support them to negotiate taking turns. Staff use resources, such as 'fiddle toys' effectively to include all children in group activities. Children learn to concentrate, for example as they listen to a story.
• Staff work closely with parents to meet children's care needs. Staff maintain good hygiene and safety and explain these to children to help their understanding. For example, an older child supports a younger friend to wipe their nose. They understand the importance of disposing of the tissue and sanitising their hands, showing a good understanding of hygienic practices.
• Leaders and managers work closely with the team to reflect on their practice and maintain the quality of care and education. There are effective systems in place to share good practice and to support professional development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• tighten arrangements to ensure that information is gathered from parents and other early years settings children attend
• develop further the organisation of daily routines to enable children to continue their play uninterrupted.