Thatcham Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and secure, and enjoy the time they spend at the pre-school. They are motivated to explore the learning environment and make new discoveries. Children happily come into the setting and are greeted by warm and welcoming staff. The pre-school provides a secure foundation for children's future learning, and children make good progress. Children particularly enjoy the freedom to play and learn outdoors. They eagerly challenge themselves as they use a selection of resources that encourage them to be adventurous and physically active. For example, they explore different ways of climbing on and off apparatus, and act out familiar stories, such as when they pretend to walk through long grass and thick forests.

Children have a positive attitude to learning. They make choices about what they want to do and take part in activities to help build on their knowledge and skills over time. Staff have high expectations for all children. They are committed to providing high-quality, inclusive care and education for all children and their families. Staff support children with special educational needs and\or disabilities effectively.

Children develop the skills they need for their future learning. They are eager to explore, investigate and find things out. They show good levels of emotional well-being, are self-assured and develop good social skills.

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

• Staff make good use of observations and assessments to help plan for children's next steps in play and learning. They are effective at extending children's learning as they interact with them. For instance, during stories, they introduce new words, such as 'thick' and 'oozy', to describe mud. These positive learning experiences help to develop children's vocabulary and support their literacy skills.
• Staff skilfully adapt their teaching to meet children's individual needs. They encourage them to complete tasks for themselves and try different ways of doing things. This is observed when staff encourage children to persevere as they complete puzzles. Children soon work out that they need to match the colour on the board to the pieces. Staff praise children readily for their attempts and achievements.
• Overall, partnerships with parents are good. Parents report positively about how happy their children are attending the pre-school. Staff work closely with parents and gather information from them before children start attending. This enables them to find out what children already know and can do, and plan for their next steps. Staff ensure that parents remain continually up to date about their children's ongoing care and learning. However, some parents report that they would like staff to provide more suggestions on how they can support their children's learning at home.
• Children behave well, copying the good role modelling of staff. Staff have a gentle approach and communicate respectively with children. Children respond positively, listen carefully to instructions, and respond promptly to staff. For example, children quickly tidy up when asked, and sit down ready for a story.
• Children demonstrate good levels of imagination. During role play, they play together harmoniously with their friends and act out familiar experiences. For example, they pretend to iron clothes and care for the dolls.
• Children enjoy the time they spend outdoors. They show good physical skills as they climb and negotiate apparatus. They explore different ways of moving, such as climbing over and through tunnels. When children struggle to get in and out of the tunnel, staff encourage them to think about how they had previously solved this problem. Children persevere until they succeed. Staff praise children for completing the task without them. These positive interactions help children to build resilience.
• Overall, staff promote and encourage children to lead a healthy lifestyle. For example, staff ensure that children benefit from healthy snacks and plenty of fresh air and exercise. Children learn about the importance of oral health, through stories and activities that enable them to practice cleaning their teeth. However, there is scope for further improvement in working with parents, to ensure they are given clear and consistent messages about the importance of encouraging children to make healthy food choices.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop further the arrangements to share information with parents and to gather their views and ideas for improvement.