Swanton Abbott Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy and are eager to learn in this warm and nurturing pre-school. Staff have developed close relationships with children and help them to feel safe and secure. Children understand behaviour expectations in the pre-school. They use manners when speaking and are kind and considerate to their peers. Children quickly help to tidy up their toys and learn to take turns with their resources. They benefit from real-life learning experiences such as looking after the pre-school's chickens. Children learn about life cycles as they watch the chicks hatch and care for them and then help staff to make a chicken pen in the garden. This enables children to actively learn about nature and gain hands-on experience of caring for living things.

Staff support children to develop a love for reading. Children sit alongside staff as they enthusiastically pretend to have binoculars on to try and identify the different animals in their story. This helps children to develop their early literacy skills. Children become increasingly independent. They confidently pour their own drinks, wash their hands and learn how to express their feelings and emotions. This ensures they are provided with the skills that enable them to be ready for the next steps of their education.

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

• The manager and staff team are passionate about providing children with the best start to their early education. They gain detailed information from parents when children start, to build on what children already know and can do. Staff know their key children well and their next steps in learning. They complete termly reports that they discuss with parents, and share ideas of how parents can support children at home.
• Staff understand the importance of supporting children's communication and language skills. They model the correct pronunciation of words and repeat sentences back to children. Staff engage in meaningful conversations throughout play and give children time to think and respond to questions asked. As a result, children have time to process and express their ideas and thoughts.
• Staff teach children about the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. They enjoy playing outside each day to develop their physical skills. Children learn about good oral health and take turns bringing the pre-school teddy 'Timmy teeth' home each week. They take him on adventures to the dentist and discuss how they can keep their teeth healthy and clean. Children help to prepare nutritious foods for snack and enjoy cutting up their food independently. However, at times, there are inconsistent messages about healthy eating. Staff do not always share enough information with parents to help them understand about the pre-school's policy on healthy eating.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff ensure that they communicate regularly with them and keep them up to date about what their children are learning. Parents comment that their children make 'astounding' progress and develop the skills that enable them to be ready to move on to school. They discuss how staff are friendly and welcoming, and quickly put strategies into place when their children need additional support.
• The manager and staff work effectively with parents and other professionals to ensure the support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is strong. Staff use additional funding, such as early years pupil premium funding, to support children's individual needs and enhance their learning experiences. Therefore, all children make great progress from their starting points.
• The manager supports staff well. They have regular supervision meetings and have opportunities to attend training courses to develop their professional development. Staff use the knowledge gained to plan stimulating activities for children. However, at times, staff do not always use their teaching skills effectively to quickly identify how they can extend children's learning. For instance, children eagerly fill up plant pots to grow their own tomato plants but staff do not use the opportunity to teach them the knowledge of counting, weight and quantity. This does not consistently promote children's understanding of mathematical concepts.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider ways to further develop information sharing with parents to provide clear and consistent message about healthy eating habits for children
• enhance professional development opportunities to focus more precisely on building staff's teaching skills to a higher level, particularly in supporting children's mathematical development.