The Ark Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are very happy at The Ark. They are greeted at the door by friendly staff who support them to separate from their parents. Children know to hang up their coat and to stack their lunch box before they rush to the main room. They greet each other cheerily and are keen to check with staff to see if their special friends will also be present. Children settle well and quickly become engrossed in the games and books set out for them.

Children and staff share very positive relationships and this helps children to feel safe. Staff have high expectations of children and, consequently, children's behaviour is very good. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are supported to be respectful of each other. Children are encouraged to share, take turns and to use their manners.

Children are encouraged to be independent and manage their own self-care. They regularly sanitise their own hands and blow their own nose. Staff and children communicate clearly with each other. This helps children to understand the day-to-day routine and to anticipate what comes next. Children know that they will brush their teeth after snack and eagerly anticipate playing outside once their teeth are clean.

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

• Staff develop a vibrant curriculum for children that encourages them to investigate and explore. Staff use familiar materials to engage children's curiosity and encourage them to test out what they already know. Children pour flour into a tray and tell staff, 'It smells like bakery.' They enjoy making swirls and marks in the flour using their hands and fingers. Staff ask children what might happen if they add water to the flour, and children are excited to find out. Children recognise that the texture and properties of the flour have changed. They comment that it becomes 'sticky, like dough'.
• Staff understand the local community that the children come from. This helps them to plan to meet the needs of individual children, including those with SEND. Staff develop good relationships with parents and other professionals who may be involved in the children's care. This means they can plan and implement specific strategies to support children to make the best possible progress.
• The manager proactively supports staff to develop plans for children's learning. Staff assess what children know and can do by observing their play. They use this information to develop next steps for children's learning. Staff know that some children have limited opportunities to be creative and messy at home. They plan a range of opportunities for them, for example chalking on the ground outside, digging in the mud kitchen and planting seeds in the garden.
• Overall, staff promote children's communication and language skills well. They use stories, songs and games to encourage children to talk and to understand new ideas. Children choose to look at 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' story. With staff's support, they use a story sack to retell the story. They use the pictures in the book to identify and count different fruits and correctly select matching items from the story sack. However, sometimes children are expected to concentrate for too long and this means they can lose interest. For example, children play a card game with staff but become distracted when it takes too long for them to have a turn.
• Parents are very happy with the care their children receive at The Ark. They speak highly of the bonds children have with staff. They know who to talk to about their children's development. Parents praise the work staff do to ensure children are ready when the time comes for them to go to school. Parents value the verbal and electronic feedback they receive about their children's experiences, and they enjoy seeing photos of them playing with their friends.
• Staff say that they enjoy working at the pre-school. They feel valued and supported. They work extremely well together as a team and support one another to meet the needs of individual children. Staff regularly refresh and update their own knowledge and say that this enables them to extend and develop children's learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen support for staff to focus on developing their teaching practices to an even higher level.