The Pines Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children receive care and education that are targeted to their specific needs. Staff use their excellent knowledge of the community and families who use the pre-school to deliver a curriculum that supports every child's unique circumstances. Children demonstrate secure attachments, arriving with great enthusiasm and parting easily from parents. The kind and caring team places children at the heart of its practice. Consequently, children very quickly settle into their learning, chatting to trusted adults as they play and explore.

Children are supported to develop respectful relationships. Staff regularly remind children of their expectations and manage conflict with clear boundaries. Children are developing an understanding of how their actions can make others feel. Staff help children to develop an understanding of a range of feelings and emotions. They explore books and associate feelings with colours. This helps them to manage their feelings and emotions more positively.

The curriculum has been designed to give children the essential skills needed for the next stage of their education. Children demonstrate confidence in their play and learning and show high levels of engagement. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make excellent progress from their starting points.

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

• Leaders have ensured that the curriculum supports all children to make the progress they are capable of. Early communication with families, including home visits, ensures that staff have a deep understanding of every child and their starting points. Children access opportunities to broaden and consolidate their learning. Consequently, children make good progress in their learning and development.
• Staff are ambitious for all children. Children with SEND benefit from staff who are committed to closing any gaps in children's learning and development. The highly-effective assessment and partnership-working means that support for disadvantaged children is sharply focused on individual achievement and success.
• Experiences for children are meaningful. They learn about capacity and volume as they scoop rice and pebbles into containers. Staff use a range of words to support their play and support children's ideas, such as using the dough as cement to make a wall from stones.
• Communication and language are woven seamlessly into play and learning. Children enjoy a lively and engaging story-sack session. They recite the words from the well-loved story 'Dear Zoo' and correctly predict what comes next.
• Children sing songs and engage in meaningful conversations with staff about the houses they have built from blocks and the different lengths of play dough they have rolled out.
• Staff promote children's emotional well-being. Children register their names when they arrive and can look at their family photos, which are proudly displayed on boards. Staff work closely with parents to understand any 'life changes' for children, such as welcoming a new baby. Environments are regularly updated to support children to connect real-life experiences to their play.
• Children are developing their independence. They select fruit and cut it up ready for snack. When going outside, children manage their belongings, such as putting on their coats. Outside, children show positive attitudes to physical play. They make good use of all the available space, running, climbing and riding bicycles. Children use a pulley system to transport balls up and down. They are becoming aware of the impact of physical play and healthy lifestyles and how this contributes to their good health.
• Teaching is of good quality. Staff recognise when to support and challenge children, such as when they race cars down a chute, suggesting a change of height to the start points. However, at times, staff's use of questioning does not consistently support children to think for themselves and consider new ways to approach learning. When staff do ask questions, they do not always give children time to answer.
• Parents are very happy with the progress children make. They feel well supported and comment that staff go 'above and beyond' to make a difference for children. Leaders actively seek new and interesting ways to support children. Highly-effective teamwork ensures seamless communication about children and how best to support them.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to further develop their questioning skills so that children have the time that they need to process their thoughts and respond with their answers