Styvechale Grange Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children develop strong relationships with staff and their peers in this nurturing setting. Staff use their strong knowledge of the children to offer resources and experiences that reflect their individual needs. On arrival, staff encourage children to store their lunch boxes and register themselves using their name and picture card. This contributes to children developing a sense of belonging and connection.

Staff skilfully enable children to develop their imagination. They offer varied opportunities for children to extend their role play. For example, children enjoy pretending to be police officers and doctors. Staff ensure their own interactions during this play extend children's communication and language skills. They do this by introducing relevant vocabulary. Staff provide varied opportunities for mark making, such as writing prescriptions or speeding tickets. This supports children's early literacy skills.

Children benefit greatly from learning about the world around them. They happily share with visitors their photographic record of gardening they have been involved in. Staff keenly support children to develop their knowledge of planting and growing. Children eagerly describe the plants they have grown and explain how they care for them. Staff support children to understand that insects sometimes eat the plants they are growing. They suggest bug-friendly methods they can try to discourage this. Children show immense pride in their planting projects.

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

• The managers and their team have developed a clear and well-sequenced curriculum. They use their observations of children to plan effectively for their development. Staff use their interactions to reflect appropriate teaching to meet individual needs. This helps children to make good progress across all seven areas of learning.
• Leaders show an understanding of the benefits of communicating with staff at other settings the children also attend. However, they have not yet fully established communication with staff at these other settings. Therefore, children are not yet provided with the highest level of consistency in their shared care and learning.
• The experienced special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works in close partnership with parents and professionals from external agencies. She supports staff to put into place prompt and effective intervention. This enables children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to achieve the best possible outcomes.
• Staff provide a wide range of planned activities to support children's next stages of learning. However, on occasions, some quieter children are not fully supported to engage meaningfully in these experiences. This leads to them drifting between the play opportunities on offer and becoming disengaged.
• Parents have only good things to say about the setting. They are extremely happy with the progress their children make. Parents state that they develop trusting relationships with their children's key person. Regular communication, including parents' meetings, helps them to feel fully involved in their children's learning.
• Children develop strong balance and coordination skills as they use wheeled toys, such as cars and bicycles, in their role play. Staff skilfully teach them to start, stop and pay attention to any obstacles. Children develop a keen awareness of how to keep themselves and others safe as they move about the setting.
• Children delight in choosing fruit at snack time. They practise their fine motor skills as they use a range of equipment to serve themselves. Younger children are well supported. Staff ensure that children learn about the names of the fruit and vegetables they are eating. They take every opportunity to develop children's understanding of a healthy lifestyle.
• Staff model communication highly effectively. For example, they introduce descriptive language as children produce artwork that is linked to their book of the week. Staff skilfully reinforce repetitive language that children have heard previously. As a result, children confidently retell the familiar story as they create their 'swirling whirling' snowstorms.
• Children behave well. Staff support them to make the right choices. Children are praised when they take turns and when they are kind to others. Staff consistently encourage children to play cooperatively. Older children can negotiate the rules of their game. They encourage others to join them. Children remain highly focused on their pretend play for prolonged periods.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to recognise when quieter children need further support to get involved in activities and experiences
• review and strengthen information-sharing procedures with other settings that children attend to further improve consistency across their learning and development.