Stepping Stones Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children quickly settle on arrival and are happy and eager to engage in the activities. The new role-play area has had a positive effect, especially on young children new to the setting. They build friendships, feel secure, manage their emotions and act out familiar experiences. Older children also manage dressing-up clothes, which supports their independence and physical skills effectively.

The curriculum has a beneficial impact on children's learning and development. There is a strong emphasis in supporting children's prime areas of development, which underpins all other learning. For example, staff help children who are nonverbal to hear language and develop their skills. They recast mispronounced words and add vocabulary. Staff sensitively help children to challenge their physical development. For example, they encourage them with praise and clear instructions to climb the small wall, using the foot and hand holds to reach the top. Children are then confident to try again. Every day, children take part in activities with dough, which strengthens their arms and hands, ready for writing. Staff know the children well and plan an exciting environment, using children's interests to motivate their learning. For example, children enjoy stacking wooden blocks; they work together, take turns, and carefully balance the blocks higher. This leads to staff helping children to measure themselves and see the difference in their sizes.

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

• Staff monitor children's development successfully. The special educational needs coordinator ensures that children and families receive the support and experiences they need to narrow any gaps in children's development. For example, funding pays for extra staff to enable those who need it most to have one-to-one and small-group support. Parents confirm how well they work in partnership with staff, and comment that their children have grown in confidence, social skills and language development.
• Children enjoy books individually and in a whole group. They eagerly anticipate what happens next in their favourite stories. Staff pause and children fill-in the well-known words. Staff gradually build up the time older children need to sit, listen and pay attention, preparing them well for school. However, on occasions, routines interrupt group activities and noise levels rise; children then find it harder to listen and concentrate.
• Children are confident and willing to have a go at new skills. Staff support them well in making good choices. Overall, children behave well and build positive relationships. Staff provide good support to help children manage their emotions and be kind to their friends. However, sometimes staff are quick to solve problems for older children and do not encourage them to consider how they might resolve them for themselves.
• Staff ensure an inclusive setting. They provide good support for children to gain a positive awareness of people's differences. They value diverse ways of speaking and ensure children who have English as an additional language have good opportunities to use their home language. Children learn to respect each other and understand about British values, such as democracy. For example, they vote on which books they want staff to read.
• Children become increasingly independent in their self-care skills. Children develop good hygienic practices and learn the importance of caring for their teeth. They enjoy nutritional snacks and managers are implementing new ways of ensuring healthy packed lunches. All children help themselves to regular drinks to keep hydrated. They have daily opportunities to be outdoors and active, and they understand the importance of exercise.
• The manager and deputy provide good role models for staff. They work directly with the children using all routines and activities as a learning opportunity. For example, at snack time, the deputy engages children in discussions about healthy eating and extends their mathematical vocabulary. She skilfully enables children to be as independent as possible, through positive encouragement.
• Staff work well as a team. They confirm the good support, supervision and training they receive from managers to extend their knowledge and skills. The manager recognises the staffs' strengths and uses this successfully for them to learn from each other. They constantly reflect on their practice and evaluate what went well and how they can develop. This ensures they maintain their good quality provision and continuously strive to improve.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the organisation of routines so that children can always listen and concentrate in group activities
• help older children to consider ways of solving problems for themselves.