Trinty Pre-School Bradley Stoke

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter the pre-school excited and eager to learn. They happily say goodbye to their parents and carers as they are greeted by their friends and staff. Children form positive relationships with key persons, which helps them to feel safe and secure. Staff provide the children with a wide range of activities aimed at sparking their curiosity and interest. For example, children explore dinosaurs frozen in ice. They use spoons to break up the ice and free the dinosaurs. This supports children to develop the key muscles needed for developing writing skills. The children love to learn about nature. In the garden, they lift logs and stones to find different bugs and mini-beasts. They use magnifying glasses and collection pots to look closer at what they have found. Children understand how to handle things with care. They know that once they have finished looking at the creatures they must put them somewhere safe. For example, the children find a snail. They use magnifying glasses to notice the different parts of the snail. The children discuss how the snail is stretching out of its shell. They decide the snail might be feeling scared and decide to find it a safe place to rest. The children work together to find the snail a new home.

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

• The managers and staff follow a child-led approach to children's learning and development. Children make choices on what they would like to learn. Staff use open-ended questions during play to gain an understanding of what children already know. They further extend children's knowledge through meaningful interactions. For example, children become excited as they plant flowers. They make links to plants at home and understand that they need water to grow. Staff show the children the roots of the plant. They explain to the children that the roots drink up the water from the soil. The children know to be careful not to break the root when potting their flowers or they might die.
• Children behave well. They listen to each other and share ideas when in a group. The children follow each other around, calling their friends to join in with their play. They show they are confident communicators as they engage in conversations with staff and visitors. For example, children tell staff and visitors about their favourite things to play and do at the pre-school, for example, 'We like making hot chocolate in the mud kitchen and reading books'.
• Staff understand the importance of children developing a love of literacy. They provide children with a lending library, with a range of books to take home. The staff ensure children have access to books in all areas of the pre-school. They use the books to support children learning or to spark new play ideas. However, during story time, staff struggle to keep children interested and engaged. This impacts the learning experiences of other children.
• Children learn about cultures and languages represented by children who attend.
• The staff ask parents about their culture and beliefs, which supports them in celebrating special events. The children share with their friends where they are from by placing their faces on a map. At mealtimes, the children talk about what food they have brought and notice the differences.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents praise the setting for their continued work and dedication. Those whose children have special educational needs state that the manager has gone above and beyond to support their children. Parents state that their children make good progress in the pre-school. The staff give parents regular updates on their children's development and changes to policies.
• Staff prepare the older children for their move to school. These children show interest in sharing books and writing their names. They demonstrate increasing independence when changing into their outdoor clothing, and they love the responsibility of taking on jobs, such as sweeping up after play. However, when it is time to tidy up or to go inside for story time, children are not given time to prepare for this transition or finish what they are doing. They become confused and struggle to follow instructions given by staff.
• The pre-school has a strong focus on self-evaluation. Staff work together to regularly evaluate what activities and resources have worked well. If an activity is not accessed by children, staff think about how they could adapt it to better meet the needs and interests of the children. Staff feel valued and praise the management team for their support during difficult times.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• further support children's concentration and engagement, particularly during whole-group times
• support staff to plan transitions between activities more effectively, to allow children more time to prepare for what happens next and to help them understand and follow routines more effectively.