Trinity Hall Kindergarten

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provider and the staff create a warm and welcoming environment for children. Staff are passionate about providing an effective settling-in process that supports all children to feel safe and secure. This supports children to form positive relationships with staff, including children who are newer to the setting. Staff value the importance of gathering information about children's interests from parents. They use this information to plan activities that follow and build on children's diverse interests.

Children are happy at the pre-school. They enthusiastically explore their surroundings and engage with the thoughtfully arranged resources that encourage purposeful play. Children spend time filling up containers in the sand tray. Staff promote their social skills by encouraging other children to participate. Staff support the children to listen to and follow age-appropriate instructions, for example to scoop up the sand with a smaller container to fill up a large container. This supports the development of children's listening and attention skills.

Children engage in cooperative play by taking turns and listening to each other's play ideas. They consistently show kindness and care towards their friends. For instance, children notice when their peers have difficulty opening their snack box and step in to help them. Staff recognise and praise children's positive behaviours throughout the day, which supports children to show good behaviours. Children focus and listen during group activities. They join in by recalling previous learning and contributing to discussions.

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

• Staff incorporate opportunities for children to develop their independence throughout their day. Children confidently make choices about activities they would like to play with. This helps to develop children's high self-esteem.
• Staff support children to make progress in their communication and language development. Children enjoy singing, rhymes and stories during the day. They sit with excitement before starting their morning group session. Staff encourage children to use actions and visual picture cards to support their understanding. This helps children to develop their language skills.
• Staff know the children well and have a good knowledge of their development. They complete observations and plan for individual next steps in children's learning. However, staff do not consistently consider every child's learning and development needs when planning for activities. This means that some children do not benefit as highly from activities as others.
• Staff form positive relationships with parents. Parents speak highly about the nurturing environment provided. Staff keep parents well informed about their children's learning via daily verbal feedback and online observations. Parents also enjoy attending regular events. This supports them to feel involved in their child's learning at the pre-school.
• Children are provided with some opportunities to play outdoors in the fresh air. They engage in fun running games with their friends and staff. However, at times, children's access to the outdoor environment is limited because staff do not fully use all opportunities for children to play and learn outdoors.
• Leaders work closely with professionals and staff to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They identify children with SEND early and provide effective support and interventions. Referrals are made to external professionals where additional support is required. This supports children to get any help needed to make individual progress.
• Staff promote children's good health. Children confidently follow well-rehearsed routines for washing their hands before snack. Their early mathematical knowledge is incorporated in learning. Children identify the numeral and select three cheese biscuits. Staff provide parents with information about healthy snacks and lunch boxes. This helps both children and parents understand the benefits of healthy habits.
• Staff work closely together as a collaborative team. Leaders provide support through supervision sessions and regular staff meetings. Staff knowledge is developed through a range of training opportunities. Staff feel that their well-being is considered and supported by the leadership team.
• Staff praise children for their achievements. Children independently create their own family picture. Staff encourage children to talk about their work. This helps children to develop a positive attitude towards their learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• build on planning for activities to consistently extend children's learning further
• enhance opportunities for children to play and learn outdoors.