Stepping Stones Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

All children at this pre-school significantly benefit from a wonderfully fulfilling early years' education. During every step of this journey, staff enable children to achieve their full potential. Children are eager learners and staff have high expectations of them. Children excitedly accept challenges from staff to solve problems and develop their ideas. Staff have designed the learning environments, both indoors and outdoors, to provoke children's awe and wonder about the world around them. For example, they participate in numerous scientific experiments to encourage their curiosity. Children have extremely high levels of respect for staff and each other. For example, they independently ask other children if they could move to the side so that they can reach a resource they would like.

The pre-school is a wholeheartedly inclusive setting. All children have a voice that is continuously listened to by staff. For example, when children comment they feel sad today, a staff member checks in with them throughout the session. Children are extremely accepting of each other's differences. Staff provide excellent role models in this respect as the uniqueness of each child is truly celebrated with genuine warmth and care. Staff constantly and positively adapt activities and care practices to meet the individual needs of each child. It is this expert approach from each member of staff that enables children to achieve as they do, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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

• Staff demonstrate an exceptional understanding of what they intend children to learn in every aspect of the provision. As a result, children receive a rich and broad range of learning experiences. These enable children to build a deep knowledge and wide range of skills to substantially support their future learning in school. For example, children are encouraged to have deeper insight into familiar and unfamiliar stories by looking at the individual characters and changing or predicting the endings. They enjoy regular sessions in their outdoor woodland 'Wild space' to learn about assessing risks, nature and exploration.
• Staff work tirelessly to support the children's families, including during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Parents overwhelmingly appreciate this. Staff have swiftly identified where children need the most support. Intervention groups during each session give staff specific opportunities to tailor children's learning to their individual needs and abilities. It is the exceptional knowledge of children and their families that staff have that leads to the fully inclusive and successful early years provision.
• Support for children with SEND is worthy of dissemination to other practitioners. Staff show genuine joy and pride when children make the smallest achievement, and share this with the other children too. Children with SEND make significant progress from their starting points. This is due to the staffs' diligent support and robust partnerships with parents and other professionals. Additional funding received for some children is extremely well targeted to further enhance their development.
• Staff are excellent role models as they engage in rich and appropriately challenging dialogue with children. Staff expertly watch, listen and respond to children as they build on their existing knowledge and skills. Staff give children so much confidence in their abilities and children are always keen to have a go. Children show very high levels of emotional security and well-being, and tend to their personal needs with much independence.
• Children's communication and language skills are ever increasing as they become very articulate and fluent speakers. Staff constantly introduce new vocabulary and concepts, such as 'alternating' and 'repeated pattern', for example as children learn about sequencing coloured objects. This helps secure a strong foundation for children's future learning when they move on to school.
• The manager rightly has full confidence in each of her staff's ability to deliver consistently outstanding teaching that is unique to each individual child's needs. The manager leads the team of staff expertly and ensures that recruitment, staff supervision, performance management, and continuing professional development is highly effective.
• Feedback from parents is overwhelmingly positive about the excellent progress they feel their children have made in the care of the pre-school staff. Parents say they are extremely happy with all aspects of the pre-school and could not be more pleased that their children are able to attend.