Union Corner Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children benefit from the warm bonds that they establish with their key person. They receive positive encouragement throughout the day, which helps them to learn new ideas. Children are happy and safe. They enter the nursery and confidently wave goodbye to parents and carers. Children build close relationships with each other. They are excited to see their friends and engage in chatter about the activities that staff have planned for them.

Children behave well and are keen to do things for themselves. For example, they put away their own belongings and attempt to dress themselves when getting ready to go outside. They cut up their own snack and independently spread toppings on crackers at snack time. Staff support children well to learn to play collaboratively. For example, children take turns at pushing each other on a bike. They know that they must wait before it is their turn.

As a result of the recent COVID-19 pandemic the manager has identified areas in which children need support. There has been a focus on supporting children's communication, independence and social skills. Consequently, children are now making progress in these areas. The manager has undertaken additional training to ensure that children with communication delay can receive targeted support.

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

• There have been significant improvements in the overall quality of the nursery since the last inspection. The new manager and her team have conscientiously and effectively reflected on their practice. They continue to strive for improvement. For example, the manager carries out regular meetings with the staff to highlight areas for support, such as access to training. Staff mention that they are happy to work in such a 'caring team'.
• Partnership with parents is good. They comment that the feedback is very good and that they find the regular parents' evenings very informative. Parents look forward to seeing and hearing about what their children have been learning. They appreciate the ideas on how to support children's learning at home.
• Children make good progress in their development. Staff have a strong understanding on what children need to learn next and they plan for this. They monitor children's development and swiftly identify the children who are at risk of falling behind. Children are given individual support plans to help close any gaps in their learning.
• On most occasions staff effectively extend children's learning. They model language and narrate activities. Children's vocabulary is very well supported through a range of books, singing and conversations. However, some staff are not consistent in supporting children to think of new ideas during free play. As a result, there are times when learning is incidental rather than purposeful.
• Staff give good support to children's mathematical language. They integrate words such as 'large', 'smallest', 'higher' and 'fewer'. Children recognise numbers that are placed on the table as snack time. They beam with pride when staff praise them for counting out pieces of cheese and apple. 'That says three. I have three!', they exclaim.
• Children successfully persevere during activities. For example, they keep on trying to find which key opens a door when completing a puzzle. 'I have done it look!' they proudly tell the inspector. As a result, children are proud of their accomplishments which helps to raise self-esteem and confidence.
• Children have plenty of opportunities for physical play. They ride bikes and balance on beams, which supports their core strength. Children eat healthy snacks and bring in healthy lunches from home. However, during these routines, staff do not discuss which foods are beneficial to our bodies and how children could make healthy choices. As a result, children do not consistently gain an understanding of healthy lifestyles.
• Children have many experiences to self-direct their play. For example, they make full use of a 'doctor's surgery' that staff have set up for them. Children enjoy pretending to make each other well. They wrap bandages around the staff and cuddle them. Children ask staff how they are feeling and engage in discussions about their feelings. As a result of these discussions, children's emotional health is supported well.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• target support in the staff team so that a high level of learning and engagement is consistent across the whole preschool
• build on learning opportunities as they arise to extend children's understanding of making healthy choices.