The Sombornes Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily and demonstrate secure attachments with their key person. They refer to them as their 'special person' and enjoy positive interactions with them. Children confidently follow routines and develop good independence skills as they put their lunch boxes away, choose their name and self-register their attendance.

Children are keen and eager to engage in many activities of choice and show high levels of concentration. Some children enthusiastically use superhero props to retell stories as part of a puppet show. Others gravitate towards sensory play where they mix colours, foam and textured materials to decorate their pictures. Children's voices are listened to and valued. Staff have high expectations of all children and role model these values extremely well. Children thrive when sharing their knowledge during routine activities, such as small-group times. They know and remember how group activities are structured and engage well. Children show respect for one another by listening to their peer's contributions.

Children are exposed to a range of activities which promote their communication and language development. They sing some of their favourite rhymes. Children thrive on their daily responsibilities of updating the pre-school board, including the day of the week, month and season.

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

• The manager and staff have a good understanding of what they want children to learn and how best to teach. The manager works closely with the children daily and role models high-quality practice. Staff morale is good, which helps provide a positive atmosphere for children to learn and develop.
• Staff know the children extremely well. They naturally support children through their chosen play, which promotes children's progress. Staff are quick to identify when it is appropriate to enhance children's learning. They support mathematical development with ease. For example, they discuss which objects are smallest, biggest, heaviest and lightest.
• The key-person system is effective. Children have strong attachments with all staff, helping them feel safe and secure. Staff promote children's vocabulary effectively. They communicate clearly and use different methods such as Makaton sign language, which children respond well to.
• Most aspects of planning for children's learning work well. They take into consideration children's current skills, what they need to know next and challenge them. However, some activities focus too heavily on the end goal rather than the processes children will learn through doing the activity. This, at times, limits children's opportunities for learning.
• Staff are supported well by the manager. Further professional development is targeted to benefit children at the pre-school. For instance, staff have developed their knowledge of mathematical language, which is having a positive impact on children's knowledge of size, capacity and shape.
• Children behave well and are supported by consistent rules and boundaries. They offer effective support and encouragement to enable all children to make good progress.
• Sometimes, staff are too quick to try and resolve children's social struggles. For example, when children want to play in an area and there is no space, staff will tell them what to do. This hinders children's ability to think for themselves and regulate their feelings during difficult moments.
• Staff provide a wide range of experiences which help children to develop well physically. Children show enjoyment in manipulating dough, which helps strengthen their small-muscle skills. They wash large play cars using big motions, which promotes good upper body strength. They practise moving their bodies in different ways as they use a climbing frame and take part in physical education lessons. Older children are encouraged to prepare for these sessions by practising getting themselves undressed and dressed.
• Staff work professionally with parents and create a culture of mutual respect for all. Parents share positive comments about theirs and their children's experiences, particularly in relation to the staff's nurturing attitudes and that they genuinely love helping their children grow and develop.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review aspects of planning to ensure activities are consistently purposeful, challenging and take into consideration what children know and need to know next
• provide children with further opportunities to think for themselves in order to develop their problem-solving skills and manage social situations.