Stamford Bridge Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive at this pre-school. They arrive happy and eager to start their day. The nurturing staff greet children, and children happily wave goodbye to their parents. Staff create a warm, welcoming and fully inclusive environment where children form positive relationships and enjoy the time they spend with their friends. This supports children to feel confident, safe and secure.

Children are motivated by the wealth of engaging activities and experiences on offer. Staff plan rich and varied learning opportunities to support children's learning and development. They understand the individual needs of children and their personalities well. Children are curious and enthusiastic learners who spend their time engaged in meaningful play. For example, staff introduce new concepts such as floating and sinking as children explore different objects in the water tray. All children make good progress from their starting points.

Leaders and staff ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported extremely well. Highly trained and experienced staff are strategically deployed to offer bespoke one-to-one support. The pre-school works in close partnership with other agencies and parents to implement targeted strategies for children with SEND. Consequently, children with SEND show high achievement. Leaders use additional funding effectively to further enhance children's experiences.

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

• Leaders create a clear curriculum that is based on what children need to learn next. Staff complete ongoing assessments to identify any gaps in children's learning and use carefully planned activities to support them. Staff demonstrate their knowledge of individual children's next steps in learning as they support and encourage children during their play. For example, staff identify when children are confident in 2D shapes and move on to teaching them about 3D shapes.
• Overall, staff support children well in developing good language and communication skills. Children enjoy singing songs and following simple actions. Staff interact with children during their play and introduce new vocabulary. For example, children learn new words such as 'thermometer' and 'stethoscope' as they engage in hospital role play. However, at times, staff ask questions in quick succession. This has an impact on the children's ability to think, respond and fully engage in the intended learning.
• Children display excellent levels of independence. Staff provide opportunities throughout the day for children to do things for themselves. For instance, children wash their own hands and use tongs to serve their fruit at snack times.
• Children choose what they want to play with and enjoy the responsibility of tidying up throughout the day. This supports children to develop strong independence from a young age.
• Leaders and staff build strong partnerships with parents. Parents provide positive feedback about the pre-school. They are extremely complimentary about the knowledgeable and experienced staff, and they know their child's key person. Parents appreciate the regular progress updates they receive through daily conversations and termly parents' evenings. Staff share home learning ideas to help fully involve parents in their children's learning.
• Children behave well. Staff are good role models, and they use gentle reminders when supporting children to share and take turns. Children benefit from lots of opportunities to explore their feelings and emotions. Staff encourage children to talk about how they are feeling throughout the day. Children receive consistent praise for their efforts. For example, children are rewarded for acting kindly towards others, and they add a leaf to the 'kindness tree' in celebration. This helps to raise children's self-esteem and confidence.
• Leaders are highly reflective, and they support staff very well. The dedicated staff team reports that there is a strong team ethos, and they receive highly effective support for their well-being and development. For instance, staff receive robust supervisions, mentoring and ongoing observations of practice. There is a clear and well-structured training development plan for staff that increases their skills and continually improves their practice. Leaders are passionate about raising the quality of care for children.
• Staff ensure that children benefit from a healthy diet and a wide range of opportunities to be physically active. Children have access to an outside area throughout the day, where they have opportunities to be active and explore. They use tyres and planks to make obstacle courses and practise their balancing skills. Children have access to a large hall where they engage in running and climbing activities. This supports children's physical development exceptionally well.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide children with the time they need to answer questions before asking further questions to continue to develop their communication skills.