The Pre-School Play Station

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children and parents receive a warm and friendly welcome from all the staff. Children greet their friends and quickly settle into the well-established routines of the pre-school. A range of activities that captures their interests is set out for children to explore. Children are happy and show that they feel secure. They go to staff for cuddles and comfort when they are unsure or have tripped over.

Children become deeply engaged in their play and remain at their chosen activity for long periods of time. Staff use children's interests to plan activities. For example, children enjoy collecting leaves, twigs and feathers to record what they have seen on their walk in the pre-school garden. They become engrossed in watching worms wriggle back into the soil. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive good support from staff. Staff work closely with other professionals to ensure that children with SEND have appropriate support for their needs.

Children's behaviour is good. They understand what is expected from them and staff spend time explaining the rules of pre-school. For example, staff ask children not to throw small wooden bricks because these could hit their friends and hurt them.

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

• The manager and staff provide a curriculum that follows children's interests, and they make accurate assessments of children's development. Staff use this information well to decide what children need to learn next and to close any gaps in their learning. This helps children to become ready to move on to school. For example, children practise using their pincer grip by using tweezers to pick up small, pretend butterflies. This helps them to develop skills they will need for early writing and mark making.
• Staff interact well with children and act as excellent role models. They follow children's lead in their self-chosen play. Staff plan adult-led activities to build on children's learning. However, staff do not always consider the best ways to support children who are less confident and slightly reluctant to fully participate with adult-led activities.
• Children share, take turns and use their manners while playing with their friends. They take turns to put bricks on top of each other to build towers. They learn to develop their independence skills, such as buttering their own toast for snack. Children are enthusiastic learners and eagerly work together to help to tidy away toys and resources at tidy-up time.
• Staff place a strong focus on developing children's communication and literacy skills. Opportunities to introduce and share books are evident throughout the day. For instance, staff sit quietly talking about characters in familiar stories. They skilfully use questions to give children an opportunity to express their own thoughts and knowledge. Children who speak English as an additional language sing rhymes to practise using familiar vocabulary. Older children practise their early writing skills. They learn how to hold their pencil correctly and independently draw pictures of their own choice and start writing their own name.
• Parents are positive about the pre-school and the staff. They comment that the staff take good care of the children. and they particularly like the use of the outdoor environment. However, not all parents know what they can do to support their child's learning at home.
• Children benefit from a range of nutritious snacks and enjoy daily fresh air and exercise. Children learn about good hygiene practice through everyday routines, such as washing hands prior to eating.
• Staff feel valued and supported. They have regular supervision meetings to talk about the quality of their teaching, as well as their well-being. Staff training is positively encouraged, so that staff build on their skills to improve outcomes for children. For example, staff have investigated how they can extend the range of messy play opportunities they can provide for children. This has increased children's concentration and sustained thinking as they spend more time fully engaged in these activities.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review the delivery of adult-led activities to provide even more opportunities for all children to join in, particularly those who are less confident and slightly reluctant
• extend the partnerships with parents further to help all parents understand how to support their child's individual learning at home.