Thorngumbald Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children form strong attachments with staff and settle quickly in their care. They enthusiastically enter into play with their friends and enjoy the routine of the session. They know what is going to happen next and this makes them feel secure. Children are polite and well behaved. For example, they consistently use good manners.

Staff have high expectations for children to achieve their full potential. They encourage children to select the activities they would like to participate in. They work hard to ensure they incorporate children's interests into these. Through observations and accurate assessments, they quickly identify any areas where they would like children to develop further.

Children's physical development is well supported during outdoor play. They expertly navigate the play equipment and confidently jump and balance. This contributes to developing their core muscles and ability to move carefully around the space. They learn about being active as they feel their beating hearts and talk about being active.

Parents no longer enter the setting due to COVID-19 (coronavirus). Staff support children well to separate from their caregivers. They ensure parents are fully informed about their child's care through discussions during collection times and also through electronic means of communication.

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

• Staff have a clear intent for what children need to learn. They know children's starting points and their next steps in learning. Staff recognise the impact of COVID-19 on children's development. They highlight the importance of building on children's communication and language skills and their social interactions with others. Focused intervention enables children to reach expected stages of development and catch up in their learning.
• Staff support children's communication and language well. Staff encourage children to lead conversations and expand on these when talking about children's family lives and their experiences. They ask meaningful questions and give children the opportunity to respond. Staff introduce new words as children explore the activities provided. For example, children make dough and chat about the textures of the dough. They discuss how they 'squeeze' and 'knead' it. Staff understand the impact of the use of dummies on children's speech and oral health. However, this information is not communicated to parents to support them to reduce their use.
• Parents are extremely satisfied by the support staff give them and their children.
• They feel staff keep them informed of their children's learning and progress. During COVID-19, staff maintained contact with parents and children. They implemented the curriculum for those who still attended the setting. Leaders ensured those who could not attend continued to be supported. They provided learning activities and guidance to promote children's continuous learning.
• Staff encourage children to adopt good habits that contribute to their health. Children wash their hands thoroughly before they eat and after using the bathroom. They talk about being active in the outdoor area. However, staff do not extend this good practice and fully promote children's understanding of healthy eating.
• Staff act as good role models and support children to manage their behaviour and feelings well. They remind children to consider the feelings of others. Children take turns with the toy motorcycles in the garden and willingly give them up when they have had their turn.
• Overall, staff promote children's mathematical development well through routine counting. For example, they support children to count the number of stickers required to make 10, using more or less. However, mathematical language is not as readily used with younger children, such as talking about making things bigger or smaller.
• Leaders support staff to identify children who require additional support. They work closely with parents and other practitioners when they identify children with special educational needs/disabilities. This enables these children to make good progress.
• Staff prepare children well for moving on to school. They ensure children are emotionally and physically prepared and support them to be familiar with the new environment and teachers. Staff provide information to schools to ensure the children's needs can be fully met.
• Leaders ensure staff have access to training opportunities. They use supervision sessions to identify training needs, which benefit the care and education of the children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide parents with more specific information about the use of dummies and the impact on children's developing speech and oral health
• extend children's understanding of how healthy eating habits contribute to their overall health
• support staff to enhance younger children's mathematical development further, such as encouraging them to think more about amounts and sizes.