The Ark at Wellin Lane Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy to arrive and confidently separate from parents. They are greeted warmly by staff, which helps them to feel secure to enter the playroom and select toys and resources. Children have opportunities to look at their family members on photos that are displayed and talk to staff about their home experiences. This helps all children, including those who speak English as an additional language, to have a sense of belonging in the pre-school. Children behave well. They learn to use good manners, for example, at snack time. Staff model using good manners and children copy.

Staff know the children well. They plan experiences to help them to be creative. For example, children mix paints together to create different colours. They show a sense of achievement as they tell staff they have made the colour purple. Staff extend this learning further, asking what will happen if they add white paint. Children say, 'It's whiter', staff say 'It has turned lighter'. Children work as a team and show their imagination outside. They tell visitors that they are pretending to drive to pre-school and use cardboard strips as seat belts. Staff help children understand that the seat belts will help to keep themselves safe when they are in a car.

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

• Staff support children to develop their communication and language skills. For example, they ask children a good range of questions to encourage their thinking skills. Children are supported by staff to learn sign language. For example, at snack time, children show staff the sign for milk. This helps some children learn how to communicate their needs and others to develop their understanding of how other people may communicate.
• The managers and staff have a clear intent for their curriculum. This helps children to learn skills for the future, such as to be independent. For example, staff ask children to pour their own drinks at snack time. Children are given tongs to serve themselves fruit and vegetables. Staff ask older children to wash their plates and cups after lunchtime.
• Children are supported by staff to follow their interests. For example, children look for insects in the garden. When they find a slug, staff suggest they put it into a magnifying container, so they can look more closely at it. However, when staff plan some group times for children, they do not effectively maintain all children's focus or interest. This results in some children distracting their peers.
• Staff help children to learn how to share. For example, when children use spoons to mix ingredients to make play dough, staff ask them to take it in turns to stir the mixture. When more children want to join in and mix the ingredients with their hands, staff suggest children use words, such as 'Can I play please?'
• This helps to encourage children to play cooperatively.
• The managers and staff reflect on their practice and the experiences they offer children. Recent changes include introducing music when staff ask children to help tidy away toys. This is effective in encouraging all children to help, giving them a sense of responsibility for taking care of the environment.
• Additional funding for children is used effectively. For example, the manager uses some money to enhance staffing to meet children's individual learning needs. For other children, the manager purchases new equipment, such as an indoor pretend kitchen, to encourage their communication skills.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported well with their transition on to school. For example, the managers invite teachers from schools to see children with SEND and to find out about their individual needs. However, for other pre-school children, the experience is not the same. They are not supported as effectively by staff to help them to be emotionally ready for their move on to school.
• Parents and carers appreciate the information they receive from staff to help keep them informed about their children's development. They say that children often talk about staff at the weekends.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to maintain children's focus and interest during planned group times
• help all pre-school children to be emotionally ready for their move on to school.