St. Peter's Pre-School, Stafford

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff provide children with friendly, nurturing interactions. Babies and children form close bonds with staff and show they feel happy and safe in their care. Children know when they need to seek comfort from the staff, who are always close by to provide a cuddle or kind word.

Staff organise the learning environment well to motivate children to play and explore. They place a strong focus on children's physical development. Children benefit from the large, well-resourced spaces, both indoors and outdoors. Babies confidently travel around and build their muscle strength, as they pull themselves up to stand at various pieces of equipment. Staff encourage babies to stand and hold onto a rail so they can see themselves in a mirror. Older children thoroughly enjoy the opportunities to increase their heart rates as they use a wide range of equipment to travel around the playground.

Staff have high expectations for children and help them to understand the rules and boundaries. Pre-school children explain the reason for the rules, such as sharing toys and getting a sand timer so they know when it is their turn. All children make good progress and staff help them to gain the skills they need in readiness for school.

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

• The manager and staff have made successful improvements to provide children with a good quality of education. The manager has worked with the local authority to improve the staff supervision arrangements. Staff have benefited from professional development opportunities. Recent training has focused on the use of questioning to enhance children's play. New staff receive a thorough induction, so they understand their roles and responsibilities.
• Overall, the manager has developed a curriculum that meets the needs of the children. The curriculum for babies and younger children clearly identifies the sequence of knowledge and skills that staff focus on with the children. Older children benefit from valuable learning experiences and a learning environment that reflects their interests. However, the manager has not precisely identified the sequence of knowledge and skills that the older children need to gain to accelerate the progress they make.
• Overall, teaching is good across the pre-school. The manager monitors staff practice and supports staff in their roles. However, the manager has not identified where some staff need further support to provide children with teaching that precisely supports their learning needs.
• Staff use their observations and assessments of children, including children's two-year-old progress check to inform their teaching. Children show they are engaged and enjoy the learning experiences on offer. Babies thoroughly enjoy developing their understanding of the world through a range of sensory materials, such as shiny paper and edible sand. Two-year-old children concentrate as they shape play dough and learn to use simple tools. Pre-school children recreate scenes from familiar stories, such as building houses from bricks, sticks and straw. They pretend to be the wolf and try to blow the houses down.
• The special educational needs coordinator liaises with outside agencies so that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive the support they need to progress well.
• Staff skilfully support children's emotional development. They sensitively help two-year-old children learn the daily routines, such as snack and mealtimes. Staff teach older children a range of strategies to help them to manage feelings, such as frustration. Children learn to use breathing techniques to help them to achieve calmer feelings.
• Staff follow stringent hygiene routines to promote children's good health. Children learn about the importance of regular handwashing. They have access to drinking water and enjoy the nutritious meals and snacks.
• Parent partnerships are good. Parents are very pleased with the progress their children make and the support provided to them by staff. Staff keep parents fully informed about their child's achievements and give them ideas to support learning at home. They work closely with parents to provide babies with continuity in their routines.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend the monitoring of staff practice to identify where they need further support to enhance their teaching
• refine the curriculum for older children so this identifies fully how to help children to build on what they already know and can do.