Tytherington Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure at the pre-school. They form trusting relationships with the nurturing staff and settle in quickly. The supportive environment and tailored curriculum that staff provide helps all children to progress well. Staff support children with additional learning needs and those in receipt of additional funding. Staff adapt the curriculum effectively to ensure that all children make good progress. Staff observe and assess children's learning. They use their insights to plan activities based on children's interests and next steps for learning. For instance, staff promote number recognition by burying numbers in soil for children to find with diggers. This excites children as they proudly exclaim, 'I've found number 1!' Children develop their social skills as staff encourage them to work collaboratively as they build with bricks.

Overall, children respond well to staff and show positive attitudes towards learning. They work together to tidy up and relish the responsibility of being a 'lunchtime helper' as they assist staff in preparing for lunch. Staff promote children's independence skills and prepare children well for their next stage of learning. Children learn self-care skills at the 'nose wiping station'. They wash their own hands, put on their own shoes and serve themselves at snack time. This fosters their readiness for future challenges in their next stage of learning.

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

• Generally, staff support children to behave well. Children learn to play together as staff encourage them to take turns and consider the feelings of others. However, there are times when staff do not consistently make behaviour expectations clear. This does not help children to make positive behaviour choices and get the most out of all learning experiences that staff provide.
• The leadership and management in the setting are strong. Staff attend training to enhance their practice. They receive regular supervision and appraisals from managers. This helps staff to feel supported in their roles. Staff report high team morale, which creates a harmonious learning environment for children.
• Staff support children's communication and language skills effectively. They encourage children to recall and talk about past learning experiences as they ask, 'what did you notice while out walking?' They reinforce children's understanding as they invite them to act out their observations. For instance, children 'curl up like a rock' and mimic raindrops. If staff identify delays in children's speech and language, they provide extra support to help bridge any gaps. They seek and act on advice from other professionals, as necessary, to promote the best possible outcomes for children.
• Staff's teaching interactions are nurturing and supportive. Staff encourage conversations with children about family members and new experiences. They ask questions as they play, such as 'what do cows need to survive?' This helps to promote children's thinking skills and deepen their learning. However, this is inconsistent across the pre-school. Not all staff extend and challenge children's learning as much as possible to help them make the most progress.
• Children thrive with the ambitious and well-structured curriculum provided by staff. This supports their development in all areas of learning. Staff help children to recognise their names during registration, which promotes their literacy skills. Children build dens and climb ladders to access the slide, which helps them to develop their large physical movements and balance. They engage in imaginative play and practise early writing skills by creating pretend shopping lists.
• Partnerships with parents are effective. Staff share progress information with parents and involve them in their children's learning. Parents appreciate the clear communication and the flexible, personalised approach of staff. Staff invite parents into the setting to talk to children about jobs they have, such as emergency services and vets. Children have the opportunity to take home the pre-school mascot: 'Donto the dinosaur'. This encourages children talk about the things they have done at home with the mascot when they return.
• Staff enrich children's experiences well. They teach children about their local community and the world. They take children to see farm animals and on nature walks. They help children to understand events such as Remembrance Day. Children create poppies together to display in the local church and staff discuss what this means in a way they can understand. Staff also organise activities for children, such as music and sports clubs from external providers.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide children with more consistent behaviour expectations to help them make positive behaviour choices and fully benefit from the learning experiences staff provide
• support staff to enhance their teaching skills to help them to extend and challenge children's learning as much as possible to maximise the progress children make.