Top Banana Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are instantly at ease and happy when they enter the pre-school. They settle quickly with staff who know them well and with whom they have formed strong attachments. Children are motivated and want to learn and discover. They focus well and demonstrate good concentration skills during tasks. For instance, they experiment with magnetic building blocks and are intrigued as they discover how magnets work to create a strong tower. Children have time to explore and become fully involved in their chosen activities.

Overall, children's behaviour is very good. Staff expect good manners and respectful behaviour from the children, which they reflect in their own kind and thoughtful teaching. They are consistent in supporting children to manage their own feelings and responses to difficulties they might face. This helps children develop successful strategies and resilience to challenges and to keep themselves safe.

Children benefit from new experiences when they go into their community and discover the natural world. For instance, they are fascinated by the pre-school's pet millipede when they hold it and try to count its legs. They take trips to the library and use the local recreation ground, as well as growing their own plants and enjoying visits from people such as the fire brigade. This helps children gain an insight into wider society and the environment they are part of now and will be in the future.

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

• The manager is a dedicated professional, who puts children and families at the heart of her practice. She leads an equally devoted team of happy and nurturing staff who strive to make a positive difference to the lives of the children in their care. Staff are supported well by the manager, who promotes their ongoing training and discussions with other professionals to develop their skills and knowledge.
• Staff regularly assess children's learning and development. They know what the children can do and what they want them to learn. Many children demonstrate good knowledge around their interests, such as when they dig for worms outside or pretend to fix the car. Staff give children the resources they need to develop their skills and fascinations. However, there are times when staff do not build on what children already know to give them a deeper understanding.
• Staff help children develop routines that benefit their health, fitness and well-being. They give children the words to express their feelings and emotions, such as by using stories and getting children to name their own facial expressions in the mirror. Children develop good emotional literacy and understanding of others' needs.
• The manager recognises how some children's social and communication skills have been adversely affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff use new teaching strategies and interventions to help children make progress, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. However, staff do not always notice when children need more targeted interactions during their play. This means some children may not have the high-quality interactions they need to support and extend their learning.
• Children practise their physical skills in lots of meaningful and fun ways. They have ample space to run, ride bicycles and climb. They strengthen and hone their skills, such as balancing on the stepping stones to improve their confidence and coordination. They join in enthusiastically when they dance and move to music. They concentrate hard to develop their finer physical skills, such as when they paint, use scissors and prepare their own snacks.
• Children develop a love of stories. They know some books very well and 'read' them out loud to one another. Staff enhance children's listening skills by providing props, such as soft toys, to engage them while they read. Children go on to incorporate these props spontaneously into their play. This helps children develop and explore their own ideas and imagination.
• Parents are highly complementary about the staff and the pre-school's 'family' ethos. Staff regularly update them on their children's achievements and milestones. Parents feel supported and listened to. For example, staff actively seek their opinions using questionnaires and during parents' evenings. Staff reflect on parents' views to make improvements and to develop their good communication with parents.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• deepen staff's understanding of the curriculum to ensure that children's learning is sequenced more precisely to challenge and extend their skills and knowledge even further
• develop staff's practice so they can identify those children who need more high-quality interactions to develop and extend their learning.