The Beeches Pre-School Annexe

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and confident. They part from their parents and carers with ease and join their friends. Children understand the pre-school boundaries and follow the routines well. For example, they know the importance of good handwashing, before sitting down with their friends to enjoy a nutritious snack of fresh fruit. Staff sit with the children and talk about what they have in their lunch box and what they have done during the morning. This supports children's social skills.

Children are supported well to manage their own feelings. Staff give clear instructions and children know what is expected of them. Children's behaviour is extremely good. They receive consistent praise for their efforts, achievements and positive behaviours. Staff gently remind children about taking turns and sharing. Children are supported well to develop their independence skills. They pour their drink out during snack time, take themselves to the toilet and wash and dry their hands.

Children enjoy activities outside to develop their physical skills. They play in the 'builder's yard' moving sand around using a wheelbarrow, run about, kick a ball and whizz down the slide. Through well-planned-out activities, children are given opportunities to explore their curiosity. They examine objects to see if they fit in a pot and identify changes that occur when adding food colouring to rice.

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

• The manager and staff know children well and talk confidently about what they can do. Staff use children's interests to plan next steps in order to build on what children already know. They use observations and assessment effectively to monitor children's progress and address any gaps in their knowledge. Staff kept in touch with parents and children if they did not attend the pre-school during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. They posted out activities for the children to complete at home with their parents, to help support their ongoing learning.
• Staff give children the opportunities to develop their mathematical skills and gain the knowledge of shape, size and volume. For example, when counting out scoops of rice.
• Staff ensure that children make good progress in their learning. The key persons know the children well and plan effectively for their next stages of development. Staff's knowledge of the children's abilities and interests enables them to implement a broad curriculum that gives children the skills they need to succeed.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff work closely with parents to help ensure they meet their children's needs. They take time to get to know the children and their families. Staff find out about children's interests to help them provide opportunities that they know children will enjoy. Parents speak extremely highly of the manager and staff. They appreciate the efforts staff have made to maintain good communication, saying this is helpful to reassure them that their child is happy.
• Staff extend children's experiences from home to enhance their learning. For example, they provide opportunities for children to dig and explore in the pre-school garden. To further extend this experience, children plant and grow vegetables, such as carrots and potatoes. This particularly supports children who have fewer opportunities outside of the pre-school to spend time outdoors.
• Staff ask children questions and discuss what they are doing to help develop their speech and language. Children communicate well and learn to express their emotions. However, staff do not use everyday opportunities to broaden children's communication skills. This means that children are not consistently supported to develop new ideas and their understanding of vocabulary.
• The dedicated manager and staff work effectively as a team. Staff report that they enjoy their work, and this helps them to provide a welcoming and happy environment for the children. This is evident throughout the pre-school and children demonstrate this through how settled and how engaged in the activities they are.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to enhance children's developing vocabulary.