St Paul's Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive eager to start their day. They show how they have strong relationships with staff as they happily say goodbye to their parents. Children show how they understand the routines of the day. For example, they put their lunch box in the designated area before going inside to find out what activities are on offer. Staff use circle-time activities well to enhance children's early mathematical language and counting skills. For instance, staff use words such as 'estimate' to encourage children to guess how many people are at pre-school today. They support children to count one to 20. Staff use positional words to describe where they are sitting, such as 'front', 'side' and 'back'.

Staff highly promote children's physical development and emotional security. Staff encourage children to take appropriate risks and challenges as they play both inside and outdoors. They place a great emphasis on helping children to learn how to manage their emotions and develop a positive sense of self. Staff use books, such as 'The Colour Monster', to help children understand about feelings and to develop their emotional literacy. Children demonstrate high levels of confidence. They make good friendships and play cooperatively with their peers. These attributes provide a secure platform from which children can achieve at school and in later life.

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

• Staff place a great focus on helping children to develop a sense of belonging both in the pre-school and in the local environment. Children connect with various community members and services. Staff collaborate with nearby care homes, dentists and road safety teams. These positive relationships impact greatly on children's overall social and emotional well-being.
• Children form highly secure attachments with nurturing staff. Staff find out about children before they start at the pre-school. They go above and beyond to broaden the experiences available to all children. Staff recognise the opportunities that some children do not freely have. They provide an abundance of play outdoors that supports children's small- and large-muscle development. Staff also take children on outings to places of interest, such as country parks.
• Staff support children's literacy development well. They encourage children to look at pictures from the book and place them in the right order. Children hear words as staff read, such as 'squelch' and 'squirt'. Staff are skilled at encouraging children to recall their learning. However, they do not always consider how they extend children's play as it happens.
• Children learn about growing. They handle potatoes and radishes in the compost. Staff describe the red radish as hot and peppery. Older children recall how they planted their bean seed. They show their understanding of change as they say that their 'bean will grow as tall as a tree'. However, staff do not always consider how they can implement further learning in relation to shape, space and measure.
• Overall, staff respond to each child's emerging needs and interests well. They guide their development through warm, positive interactions. Children independently select the enjoyable experiences they would like to engage in. However, at times, staff do not plan and sequence how they can extend children's interests in the moment and what they want them to learn next.
• A real strength of this pre-school is the multi-agency approach to children's learning, welfare and safety. Leaders and staff provide a highly supportive and inclusive environment. They recognise the individual needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged children. Staff work exceptionally well with professionals to offer an integrated approach to children's learning and development. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the care and learning afforded to their children.
• Staff support children's early communication and language skills well. They introduce new words, such as 'nocturnal', to complement children's current learning. Additionally, leaders use funding well to support early intervention. For example, staff attend programmes with parents to help enhance children's early speaking skills. These sessions help to ensure the best outcomes for children.
• Leadership is strong. The small and dedicated staff team cares for children very well and supports their early development. Leaders and staff are very keen to keep their professional knowledge up to date. They ensure that their understanding and practice build over time to benefit all children. Staff report consistently high levels of support for their well-being.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff's understanding of how to plan and sequence children's spontaneous interests so they are clear on what skills and knowledge they want children to learn next
• consider ways to extend older children's understanding of shape, space and measure.