The Ark Pre-School, Bromley Christian Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children separate easily from parents. They are keen to engage in a range of stimulating activities in a caring environment. Staff support children's enthusiasm by providing a range of motivating learning experiences, to ensure all children build firm foundations for the future. The curriculum is ambitious for all children and includes cooking, trips to the library and signing sessions to support all children with communication and language. New children settle quickly. Staff encourage them to use good manners and share resources. Children understand the expectations of behaviour and follow rules and routines easily.

Staff build positive relationships with children and their families to enable the best start to their learning. This includes tailored support for parents on communication and toilet training. Children's interests are prioritised and activities and resources are selected, based on their preferences. This helps staff to understand what children already know and can do, so they can build on that. Children enjoy warm relationships with key persons and go to them for help and reassurance. Staff are sensitive to children's emotional needs. For example, they enable them to keep their belongings with them until they have settled in.

Planning is purposeful, with clear intentions linked to children's next steps. Children learn in different contexts about feelings and emotions. Staff ask how they feel in the welcome session and they are encouraged to describe how characters feel in stories.

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

• Children develop a love for books in story time and library trips. Staff bring characters to life and children listen attentively. They are asked challenging questions, such as 'How do you think the elephant can get down from the tree?' to stretch their creative thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Staff interact with children effectively and children are supported to express their needs. Key persons are selected based on certain children's home languages. They use visuals and signing to support all children to communicate. Adults implement recent communication and language training to effectively narrate children's play and model new vocabulary. Occasionally, staff do not take all opportunities to consider the environment and raised noise levels, which reduces children's concentration at these times.
• Children enjoy opportunities indoors and outdoors to develop their physical skills. They love climbing and running in the garden and crawling and jumping on the soft play obstacle course. Adults model how to climb over apparatus and encourage children to take age-appropriate risks. Because of this, children are confident to 'have a go' and are motivated to challenge themselves.
• They strengthen their fine motor skills through manipulating play dough and scooping and pouring with sand and water so they develop the skills needed for early writing.
• Staff build positive relationships with parents and regularly share information about children's next steps for home learning. This consistency means children are supported to make maximum progress in their learning and development.
• Children are enthusiastic learners who engage in all aspects of the provision. Staff plan activities based on the interests of children and are clear on the skills and knowledge they want children to learn. However, some learning choices, such as songs teaching letter names are enjoyed by younger children but not fully understood and learning is reduced.
• Leaders work with other professionals, so that personalised plans are targeted to meet the next steps of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This means they make good progress and can access an ambitious curriculum. The providers uses funding to buy resources to directly support vulnerable children, for example in small music-group sessions.
• The setting assists children to develop their independence in daily routines. Children enjoy pouring their own drinks and washing their hands. This gives them a sense of pride and achievement. Younger children who have used the bathroom come out smiling with both hands held up to tell staff, 'Look, all clean.'
• Managers have regular supervisions and are motivated towards achieving their next level qualifications. They continue to develop their knowledge of child development through ongoing training. Their well-being is supported and they are happy in their roles, which positively impacts the children in their care.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider adapting the environment to help children remain focused to further increase concentration and learning
• consider children's ages and abilities when planning activities to help them get the most out of their learning experiences.