Tots Care

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The pre-school is at the heart of its community, rich with a wide range of children and families. Staff maximise opportunities to celebrate children's home experiences and festivals that they celebrate, such as Eid. This supports children to understand and respect one another's differences and truly recognise what part they play in their local community.

Staff build close and trusting relationships with children and families. They prioritise getting to know them well from the outset. In turn, children are truly happy at the welcoming pre-school and demonstrate that they feel safe. They are confident to explore their environment and make choices during their play and learning. Overall, the quality of education is good. Staff plan a varied range of enjoyable activities for children to join in with and recognise what skills children need to learn next. As a result, all children make good progress from their starting points.

Staff share high expectations for all children. They are highly positive role models and treat children with kindness and respect. Staff use clear explanations to help children understand expectations, follow routines and take turns with their friends. Consequently, children consistently behave well. They demonstrate good listening and attention skills and follow simple instructions.

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

• The curriculum focuses on the key skills children need to acquire to succeed later in life. For instance, children are developing good physical skills. They learn to use scissors and persist when they have initial difficulties. They develop their large muscles as they navigate the balance bikes in the outdoor area. Staff regularly monitor the progress that children make. Any gaps in their development are swiftly addressed and their next steps are shared with parents. Because of this, all children are well prepared for their eventual transition to school.
• Parents are extremely complimentary and comment how wonderful and approachable leaders and staff are. They discuss that they truly value the advice and guidance they receive, which has had a positive impact on both children's development and their family life. Parents speak positively about the range of experiences children benefit from, such as singing sessions at the local care home.
• Staff provide children with many opportunities to explore and ignite their curiosity. For example, children demonstrate high levels of engagement and motivation as they investigate play dough. During their play, they confidently squeeze and press the dough. They happily play alongside staff and respond well to their questions. However, there are times when staff intervene too quickly. This prevents children from having the chance to problem-solve and further develop their critical thinking skills to the highest level.
• Leaders are extremely passionate about the work they do and the part they play in the local community. They talk proudly of their close-knit team and support staff's well-being effectively. Staff benefit from regular supervision meetings and reflect together as a team on their practice, knowledge and skills. However, at times, these reflections are not always deep enough to identify and address any minor gaps in staff practice at the earliest opportunity.
• Staff develop children's communication and language skills well. During activities, they use descriptive language, introduce more complex vocabulary and model the correct pronunciation of words. For example, as children scoop sand into ice-cream cones, staff introduce mathematical language and concepts, such as number and size, to challenge their language development even further.
• Staff promote children's understanding of oral health. They plan activities that encourage children to think about healthy food choices. Staff signpost parents to local dentists. Staff encourage children to drink from open cups rather than water bottles. Children are provided with water, milk and nutritious snacks. This helps children to develop an understanding of how to keep themselves healthy.
• Staff work closely with a range of professionals who offer support to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They are committed to providing every child with the best early education. There are clear systems in place to support children with SEND and ensure they receive completely targeted support.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• maximise opportunities for children to explore their own ideas and develop their critical thinking skills to the highest level
• reflect more deeply on staff's practice to address any minor areas for development at the earliest opportunity to elevate their already good teaching skills even further.