Wembury Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Friendly staff warmly welcome children into the pre-school. Children settle quickly into an activity of their choosing and there is an excited buzz in the environment. Staff have high expectations of children's personal development. Children independently hang up their belongings and self-register upon arrival. They are keen to share their experiences from home with staff, who respond attentively.

Overall, the sequencing of the curriculum is good. Staff find out about children's interests and starting points when they first join, and plan activities that capture their curiosity. All children enjoy outdoor physical activities with staff and an external sports coach. Younger children enjoy running after tennis balls in the fresh air and placing them in the net. Older children learn how to drop the ball in front of them and catch it once it bounces back up. This encourages good hand-to-eye coordination skills.

Children behave well. Staff are positive role models and encourage children to take turns when playing and to follow consistent boundaries, such as sitting down at the table when eating. Children learn how to use their manners and understand what is right and wrong. They are highly confident. Children independently climb onto the 'story tree' in the orchard and sing songs to the group, applauded by their peers and adults alike. They develop good self-esteem.

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

• Partnerships with parents are effective. Parents comment on how the pre-school keeps them up to date about their children's progress and areas to work on at home. They talk about how children are 'safe and happy' and have a 'sense of belonging within the community'.
• Children have good opportunities to develop their imagination. They use the mud kitchen to make pretend potions and perfumes by mixing various natural materials together. They also create their own menu, imaginatively making these with their peers.
• Opportunities to explore nature and be outside are strong. Children go on environmental walks, naming shapes, letters and numbers as they go. They visit the allotment where they help to grow food produce and eat these for snack. Children visit places in the community where they feed chickens and collect freshly laid eggs. Their understanding of the world is good.
• The planning of adult-led activities helps children to develop a range of skills, such as pen control, letter sounds and mathematical knowledge. However, staff do not always challenge older children enough to extend their learning, and younger children require more support to meet their individual needs.
• The pre-school has good links with the local school and nearby early years settings. They share information regularly to ensure consistency in children's learning. The manager identifies any gaps in children's development, for example in mathematics, alongside the school headteacher, to ensure children make progress in these areas.
• Staff skilfully help children to develop good language and problem-solving skills. They consistently encourage children to tell them about past and present experiences, such as how to make scrambled egg, to help recall learning.
• Children enjoy independently accessing a good range of resources. Staff encourage them to make marks on mini clipboards when in the role play area, to encourage early writing skills. Children like sharing stories with adults and their peers in the book corner. However, after the lunch period, some staff attend to parents who are collecting their children, while other staff wash up or go on their own lunch break. Therefore, children's learning is not fully maximised during these periods.
• Staff attend regular training to help keep their knowledge updated. They use this, alongside working in partnership with other professionals, to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff create small, achievable goals for children to help them make good progress in their development.
• Children become excited when looking for plastic ducks that have 'flown away' into the orchard. They work well as a team, looking for the ducks and then placing them into the basket once found. The children then count out how many ducks they have and decide if any are missing, supporting good number skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• ensure the planning of adult-led activities meets all children's individual needs to support their overall development
• reconsider routines at lunchtime to ensure staff fully engage children in educational opportunities to keep them engrossed in learning.