The Treehouse Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy attending this welcoming pre-school. On arrival, they are greeted by friendly staff, who know the children well. They pop their belongings on their named pegs and show excitement to start their day playing with their friends. Staff ensure that children have breakfast on arrival and chat to them during mealtimes about their home life and their recent holiday adventures. An effective key-person system ensures that all children are well supported and their individual needs are consistently met. This helps children to feel safe and secure and have a strong sense of belonging.

Leaders and staff have a clear vision of what they want children to learn and can explain how they put this into practice. For example, they plan a curriculum based on children's interests and stages of development to support their individual needs. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, show positive attitudes to their learning and make good progress from their starting point.

Staff ensure that children have fresh air and exercise daily. They enjoy outdoor play and have many opportunities to develop their physical skills. For example, children squeal with joy as they play in the pre-school garden. They practise their coordination and balancing skills on ride-on toys and climbing frames. This contributes well towards children's small- and large-muscle development.

Staff are good role models and teach children the skills they need to resolve minor issues, such as sharing resources and toys. This helps children to behave well and supports them to develop close friendships with their peers at the setting.

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

• Staff have identified that, following the COVID-19 pandemic, children benefit from additional support for their speech and language development and their social skills. Staff regularly read to the children and skilfully ask children questions about the stories they are listening to. They encourage children to talk about the emotions of the characters in the story, which helps children to understand different feelings. Children learn to become confident communicators, and their social and emotional development is successfully encouraged.
• Leaders and staff are very knowledgeable and fully understand how to capture children's interests in their mathematical learning. For example, when children engage in art and craft activities, staff ask the children to sort and count different-coloured lids. Outdoors, staff encourage children to count the steps they are climbing. This helps children to gain a good understanding of early mathematical learning and challenges their critical thinking successfully.
• Staff enable children to develop their independence skills from an early age. Children wash their hands independently, clean their dishes and help at tidy-up time. In addition, children learn to dress themselves and zip up their coats. They relish in the praise that they continually receive from staff, which recognises their efforts and achievements. This ensures that all children have the support they need in their ongoing learning and eventual move on to school.
• Overall, staff interact well with the children. However, very occasionally, some adult-led activities limit the opportunities for children's own creativity and independent thinking. For example, staff direct children too much and do not always encourage children to practise skills they have already learned or do things by themselves.
• Parents speak highly of the staff at the setting. They report that their children have made good progress, in particular with their speech and language development and their social skills. Termly parents' evenings are in place to discuss children's development and progress.
• Staff report that they feel well supported by the manager. They have the opportunity to develop their knowledge and expertise further through ongoing professional training. This enables them to meet the needs of the children at the pre-school effectively. Staff have regular supervisions and appraisals with the manager and feel that they can raise any concerns.
• The manager and staff lead the pre-school with a strong sense of direction. They collaboratively work together with local schools, the local authority and other professionals to provide further support for the children in their care. Staff take good account of children's needs when using additional funding. For instance, they obtain resources to enhance children's speech and language development and to support them with their personal, social and emotional well-being.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve the planning of adult-led activities to make sure children can practise skills they have already learned and have increased opportunities to be independent and use their own creativity.