Westnewton Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy, excited and eager to learn. They are warmly welcomed by the friendly, nurturing staff, who take the time to speak with every parent and child as they arrive at the school gate. Children demonstrate a close and secure attachment with each staff member. They settle with ease and feel safe and secure. Expectations are exceptionally high for all children in this inclusive setting. Children enjoy every minute of their time spent in this unique pre-school.

Leaders and staff are inspirational. They use their expert knowledge of different theoretical approaches to provide a unique curriculum. Children spend as much time as possible outside, in good and bad weather. They experience a healthy and active lifestyle and visit numerous local off-site locations. These include opportunities to explore the beach and Tarn, attend church, and visit fields and forest schools. As the children take part in these activities, staff encourage risk taking, while supporting children's understanding of safety and safe practices. Children enjoy daily walks around the village. They learn about their community and explore the natural world. Children meet familiar village residents, such as the mobile butcher and greengrocer who gives them a loaf of bread to have with their lunch. Children enjoy exploring the local cemetery, where every opportunity is used to reinforce their learning. Children learn to respect these sacred places. They look at the different headstones and recognise letters in their own names and numerals linked to their own age.

Children behave exceptionally well. Staff act as great role models. They show the greatest respect to each child and take time to listen to them. As a result, children follow staff's lead by using excellent manners and demonstrate superb social skills and independence. Staff constantly praise children and celebrate all achievements. For example, children know that they must wash their hands when they arrive at pre-school, and staff praise new starters for remembering this from their last settling-in visit. Children show high levels of empathy, and as they get older, they help and support their younger peers.

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

• The highly experienced staff provide outstanding learning opportunities that support every child to achieve the best they can. Staff expertly build on children's learning through incidental play and adult-led activities. For example, in response to children mastering the ability to recognise numbers, staff introduce some dice into an activity. They then ask children to count out the correct number of teddies, decide who has the same number, the least number, or the biggest teddy. As a result, children flourish and make exceptional progress. The curriculum is ambitious and sequenced. It builds on the skills children already know and uses children's interests to tailor each learning experience to their needs.
• The highly influential staff empower children to care for their environment. Children learn through highly effective hands-on experiences. For instance, children actively take part in everyday tasks, such as washing up and drying all the cutlery and utensils after lunchtime. Staff provide instruction and guidance to help them achieve this task. As a result, children develop resilience, independence and gain specialised skills.
• Leaders and staff provide rich and inspiring activities through connections with the outdoors. These opportunities ensure children engage in regular exercise and physical activity. For example, children enjoy running around the garden area and develop their dexterity by clambering up ladders and using the slide. They enjoy riding wheeled toys and searching through the fallen leaves to collect windfall apples. The wealth of outdoor opportunities children experience is highly successful in supporting children to maintain healthy and active lifestyles.
• Staff support children's communication and language effectively. They introduce new language constantly during activities and children's play. The early introduction to children recognising letters of their name provides a baseline for children's progression on to phonics, letters and sounds. Older children take great pleasure in responding to questions that spark two-way conversations with staff. Younger children learn simple signing to support their early language skills, enabling them to communicate their preferences. Children are highly independent in their care needs. They make choices about what they do, and staff build on experiences to help develop resilience, self-regulation, self-confidence and self-esteem. This is extensively promoted within this highly supportive environment.
• Partnerships with parents are excellent. Staff ensure that parents are involved in every aspect of their children's care and learning. Parents say that after visiting a number of pre-schools, this one stood out a mile. Parents comment that the pre-school 'is a family', saying, 'They provide so many outdoor activities, it's out of this world; they know the children so well and meet their every need.'