Trull Saplings Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happily and ready to learn at this welcoming and friendly pre-school. They develop strong relationships with the caring staff and show that they feel safe and secure in their care. Children are confident and have fun as they become absorbed in activities. They develop their physical skills through a range of stimulating experiences. Children participate in 'yoga' and 'mini mover' sessions where they learn to move their bodies in a variety of ways. They giggle with delight as they race across a playing field. Staff help children learn about the natural environment and living things. For instance, children collect natural objects and marvel at the antics of a squirrel on their daily 'welly walk' to the local park. When they return, children use their imaginations well as they find their collected sticks and use these to paint colourful pictures.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents do not enter the pre-school in the usual way. Staff collect children individually at the gate and ensure that any important information is still exchanged with parents. In addition, staff have focused on developing children's social interactions during play. They use a sand timer to successfully support children in learning how to share and take turns. Children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging and behave well.

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

• The competent manager is passionate about her role. She strives towards continual improvement and involves staff, parents and children in the process. The manager encourages staff to reflect on their own ways of working and quickly identifies where to improve individual practice through, for example, supervision meetings and observing the practice of other staff.
• Staff have a detailed knowledge of their key children. They analyse their observations of children to identify how they are progressing and what they need to learn next to extend their knowledge further. Staff share their observations with parents using an online learning journal. They work closely with outside professionals, where necessary, to help children catch up in their learning. Children make good progress.
• Children develop important skills in preparation for their move on to school. For instance, staff teach children to manage their feelings and express how they feel. Children are becoming increasingly independent. They find their own water bottles, put on their shoes and manage their self-care needs well.
• Staff boost children's growing self-esteem effectively. They encourage and praise children for their achievements, such as when they find their name card at the start of the day. Children play happily together and develop good friendships with their peers. They clap enthusiastically when a friend achieves a certificate for learning to ride a bicycle. Children beam with pride when they are chosen as the 'special helper' of the day.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents comment on how happy they are with their children's care and progress. They appreciate the feedback they receive when they collect their children and through detailed written reports.
• Children demonstrate that they are motivated to learn during their their self-chosen activities. They engage in play with staff and their friends and thoroughly enjoy looking after soft toy animals in the role-play area. Staff sing lots of songs and rhymes and children demonstrate the actions with great enthusiasm. For example, they pretend to be rockets flying to the moon. However, staff's organisation of group time results in some children not focusing their attention and fully engaging in the learning opportunities.
• Overall, staff support children's communication and language skills well. When staff talk to children, they get down to the children's eye level, speak clearly and use the correct pronunciation. Staff use good intonation when reading stories to children, who snuggle up to staff and listen carefully. They introduce new words and encourage children to join in with familiar refrains. However, staff do not provide children who speak languages other than English at home with enough opportunities to hear these languages to support their communication skills further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• organise group times to ensure that all children focus and engage in the intended learning
• support staff to help children who speak English as an additional language to communicate and listen in both languages to further develop children's speech.