Tudor Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children benefit from the caring and nurturing relationships staff build with them. Staff take the time to get to know each child individually and use what they know about children's interests to plan activities to spark children's curiosity. Consequently, children develop high levels of confidence. They engage with activities for long periods of time and make progress in their learning.

All children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language, receive prompt, tailored and individual support. Staff understand that children learn in different ways. They work closely with other professionals to identify strategies to enhance children's skills. For example, to support children's listening and attention, staff provide focused small-group activities in quieter areas to limit distractions. From a young age, children respond well. They begin to show good concentration skills and learn to point to pictures to communicate, even if they cannot yet speak.

Children show their knowledge of how to keep themselves safe. Staff encourage children to think of the reasons they put knives away. Children recall previous learning that knives are used for spreading butter. Staff extend children's knowledge further and tell children that knives can be dangerous and should only be used when eating or preparing food. This supports children to keep themselves safe not only within pre-school but in the wider community too.

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

• Managers and staff understand child development and what they want children to learn. They implement a well-sequenced curriculum that reflects the needs of the children who attend. This supports children to be well equipped for their next stage of learning. Managers consider the activities that are offered and, when needed, repeat these activities to account for children's different attendance patterns. All children access the full curriculum that is offered and make good progress.
• Staff support children to develop their understanding of mathematical concepts. For example, as children wash toy animals, staff introduce children to language of size as they point out which animals are big and small. Children begin to compare their animals and place their animals in size order, with support from staff. Additionally, while playing a fishing game, staff encourage children to count up how many fish they have all together. Staff show children quantities as they hold up their fingers to represent a number. Children learn that groups of items can be counted and eagerly count their friend's fish to see who has the most.
• Staff skilfully adapt activities to support all children to develop their physical skills. For example, when children find it difficult to cross thin beams, staff place large pieces together to make a wider beam for children to cross. Staff describe how to place one foot in front of the other. Children follow the instructions, and they coordinate their movements and balance across beams unsupported for the first time. While children explore dough, staff support children to build their smaller hand muscles. They model how to tear, poke, squeeze and roll the dough into different shapes. Children copy these actions and show increasing control and hand-eye coordination as they place small pieces of dough onto their pretend pizzas.
• Staff build strong partnerships with parents. They provide families with regular meetings to discuss their child's development and their children's next steps. Parents state they feel well supported, fully involved in their child's learning and know how to support their children's learning at home. For example, staff suggest games to play as a family to support children's engagement at home and limit children's use of screens.
• Overall, staff develop children's communication and language skills well. For example, staff consistently use clear spoken vocabulary, accompanied by gestures and picture cards, to support children's understanding. They introduce new words to children. However, when staff question children, they do not give children enough time to respond before repeating their question. In addition, the questions staff ask only require 'yes' or 'no' answers. Therefore, children are not fully supported to respond using new vocabulary they have been introduced to.
• Generally, staff support children's behaviour well. For example, when children begin to climb on the furniture, staff remind them to keep their feet on the floor, as chairs are for sitting on. Occasionally, staff do not give consistent instructions to children. For example, at group time, some children are encouraged to sit and listen to stories, while other children play nearby. Therefore, children become confused and disengage from the activity as they are not fully supported to understand what is expected of them at these times.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• improve ways of using questions further to allow children time to respond and practise new vocabulary they are introduced to
• enhance staff skills and knowledge further to develop consistent approaches when managing behaviours to support children to understand what is expected of them.