Toad Hall Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show excitement when they attend this pre-school and settle immediately. Friendly and nurturing staff greet children warmly and listen to their experiences from home. Children feel exceptionally safe and secure. They enjoy close interactions with staff, such as cuddles and responsive conversations.

Children behave exceptionally well. They are respectful to adults, peers and the environment. Children demonstrate highly positive attitudes to learning and show an eagerness to join in with all activities. They are extremely motivated and display high levels of curiosity. Children use specific dolls during circle time to help them talk about their feelings and those of others. They are very independent and plan which activities they will play with. Afterwards, they hang pictures below their laminated name of the activities they have engaged with. At circle time, children talk about what they have learned.

Staff know children well and plan activities that all children will enjoy and achieve in, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For instance, children retell familiar stories and act out narratives using related props to support their language skills effectively. In the 'discovery area', children use plastic knives and forks to cut up dough. This helps to prepare them with the necessary physical and independence skills before moving on to school. Children make good progress in their learning.

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

• Children develop a good understanding of mathematics. Staff encourage them to count buttons to represent 'chocolate chips' and place them onto laminated cookie pictures. Children learn to use one number name for each button and match the quantity to the number correctly.
• Partnerships with parents are effective. Parents comment that their children enjoy coming to the pre-school and know how to support their learning at home. For example, children can borrow books from the pre-school to share at home to support their early reading skills.
• Staff plan specific group times where children can learn new knowledge with their key person. Children learn about healthy and not-so healthy foods. Staff talk to them about how lots of sugar can make them feel tired and result in a lack of energy. They encourage children to drink lots of water to prevent dehydration. Children learn about oral health and practise brushing plastic teeth on a mouth replica.
• Children enjoy engaging in the wide range of activities. They pretend to bake cupcakes in the role-play bakery. Children use recipe books to look at the ingredients and decide how long to 'bake' these for. Outside, children teach staff how to hula-hoop. However, staff teaching does not consistently meet children's individual needs, particularly during free play, to help them make even more progress in their learning.
• Overall, children have good opportunities to be physically active. They can play outdoors and use the large climbing apparatus indoors. Although staff plan some group physical activities indoors, children spend considerable amounts of time sitting down completing adult-led activities. As a result, children sometimes lose engagement and concentration in their learning.
• The special educational needs coordinator devises clear strategies alongside the key person to ensure children receive effective support. They liaise closely with other professionals to provide the best support available for all children. Regular meetings with parents and external agencies ensure a consistent two-way flow of information.
• Children learn about letter sounds during activities. At group times, children pass around a small beanbag and identify which items they can see and the initial sound it makes, such as 'w' for 'waffle' and 'Wednesday'. During free play, children form letters in coloured rice and identify their names during self-registration. This helps to support their literacy skills.
• The manager and staff attend regular training to keep their knowledge updated so that it benefits children. Recent training around communication has enabled staff to provide children with specific interaction programmes to encourage their language development.
• Children have high levels of confidence. Staff have implemented 'wow' certificates for parents to complete at home. Children bring these into the pre-school to share with staff and peers alike and talk about their achievements.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure staff teaching meets children's individual next steps, particularly during free play and when outdoors, to help children make even more progress in their learning
• adapt routines so children have more time to be actively engaged in learning.