The Beeches Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff create a very warm and welcoming environment in which children are eager to learn. They have developed positive relationships with children and their families. Staff are kind and nurturing in their approach. As a result, children feel a sense of belonging and readily approach staff for help and support. Children are happy and content. They demonstrate that they are self-confident and secure as they request toys and resources to play with independently. Children show positive attitudes to learning and display good levels of engagement. Staff are good role models and offer children lots of praise. They also encourage children to share and to take turns. Children behave exceptionally well. For example, they play collaboratively and show kindness and concern for one another.

Staff create interesting activities and experiences for children. As children play and explore, staff talk to children about what they are doing and introduce new words. For example, as children play in the water, they learn the word 'pipette'. Children delight in using this word in their play. This approach helps children to hear a variety of vocabulary. Staff working with younger children label objects and use single words to help their understanding. Older children enjoy answering questions and staff give them plenty of time to think and respond. As a result, children are becoming skilful communicators.

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

• Managers observe staff as they interact with children and provide opportunities for staff to discuss aspects of their role. Staff feel supported and are happy that their well-being is prioritised. However, managers do not always support staff to improve their teaching. As a result, the quality of teaching is not consistently strong. This does not fully enhance the learning experiences for all children.
• The ethos of the pre-school is to help children feel supported and valued. Staff want children to enjoy their time in the pre-school and work incredibly hard to help them develop a 'can-do' attitude. Children are pampered as they participate in spa days and have relaxation sessions. They blow scarves and learn about their breathing. Staff also encourage children to consider the feelings of others. This helps children develop self-confidence and learn to label their emotions.
• Staff are committed to helping children develop a real love of reading. They bring books alive with funny voices and actions. As a result, children laugh and enjoy these experiences. All children take a book home each week. Parents are given tips on what they could talk to children about when looking at the books. This partnership working helps to develop children's early literacy skills.
• Care routines are effective. Staff remind children to tidy up toys to keep the environment safe. Children are supported to attend to their physical needs. They wash their hands before and after mealtimes and after they use a tissue. These effective procedures help children to learn good hygiene practices from an early age.
• Children benefit from lots of opportunities to learn about the world around them. Special events and cultural festivals are brought to life through celebrations, stories and discussions. These activities help to prepare children for life in modern Britain.
• The provider recognises that recent professional development opportunities for managers and staff have been limited. Due to this, managers and staff have not consistently built on and extended their knowledge. This is evident in some areas of the curriculum. For example, activities are not always planned with clear learning intentions. As a result, children do not always learn new skills based on what they already know and can do.
• Parents feel welcome in the pre-school. If children are upset, parents are invited to spend time in the playrooms to help their children feel secure. This approach works very well, as children settle quickly. Parents appreciate the friendly approach of staff, who offer guidance and support. For example, staff give parents daily updates about their children, which keeps them fully informed about their children's care and learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the coaching opportunities for staff to further enhance the quality of teaching and experiences for children
• extend staff knowledge of how to consistently plan activities that build on what children already know and can do.