The Woodland Pre-School (Downley)

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children choose to spend time outside, where they make independent choices from the activities and equipment on offer. They delight in making cakes and potions in the mud kitchen. Children explore textures and watch what happens next as they mix mud, bark and leaves. This supports children's creativity and emerging understanding of cause and effect.

Children are happy and settle well. Those who find it more difficult to separate from parents on arrival, receive sensitive support from staff. Children and adults sit in the book corner together and share stories until they are ready to play.

Children learn to negotiate and take turns, as they play alongside their friends. For instance, they decide who will climb the wooden structure first and whose turn it is to use the ball launcher next. Children develop positive relationships with adults and their peers. They confidently approach staff for help, comfort, and reassurance as they need it. As a result, children are able to communicate their own needs.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive valuable support. Knowledgeable and caring staff work effectively with parents and other professionals to ensure children receive the additional help they need. Consequently, these children make good progress in learning.

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

• The leadership and management of the setting is strong. The manager and trustees work well together to support staff. They offer regular meetings and discuss their well-being, practice, and own professional development. As a result, staff feel valued and develop their own knowledge and skills.
• Staff know the children well. They plan the curriculum based on their interests and what they already know and can do. For example, children and staff create a 'dinosaur land' in the nature area. They decide what colour to paint the tyres and also help to plant flowers. Children are eager to explore this space and learn about how things grow.
• Children make good progress in their learning. Staff want them to build their skills over time. For instance, they provide balance bikes initially and then encourage children to move on to pedalling different sized trikes. This helps children begin to develop their gross motor skills and become more confident in riding bikes.
• Overall, staff support children's communication and language skills well. They encourage children to engage in conversations and ensure they hear the correct pronunciation of words. Staff also use picture cards to support children who find speaking more difficult. However, when some staff teach children phonics, they do not always use the correct letter sound. Therefore, this does not always effectively support children to develop appropriate early reading skills.
• Children share their thoughts and ideas with staff during free play. For instance, they create spring pictures and explain how they would like to make these. This ensures children feel valued and understand their contributions matter. At large group times, however, staff do not give all children the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas, so they feel included.
• Staff weave number and mathematics into everyday routines. Children also choose to incorporate mathematics into their play. For instance, they count the blocks as they construct models. They also start to experiment with one more and one less. Staff use water play effectively to help children explore size and capacity. As a result, children develop a good understanding of some early mathematical concepts.
• Children know and understand the routines of the pre-school day. They respond when staff play the tambourine to indicate a change of activity. However, on occasions, the organisation of the day disrupts children's learning. Staff expect them to move on, even when they are clearly not ready to do so.
• Parents speak very positively about the pre-school. They value how well staff know their children. Parents comment that staff ensure children receive any extra help they need to make progress in their learning. They also appreciate the daily feedback staff give about their children's well-being. Consequently, parents and staff work in partnership to meet children's needs effectively.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff practice further to ensure they model how to pronounce sounds correctly when teaching phonics, to better support children's early literacy skills
• give all children the opportunity to express their own thoughts and ideas during group times, to enhance their thinking skills
• review the organisation of daily routines to avoid interruptions to children's play and learning, particularly when they are outside or undertaking free play.