Weston Point Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders and staff provide a welcoming environment for children to come in to. Children are greeted by warm, friendly staff who settle them into the setting, helping to ease the separation from their parents. The relationships between staff and children are clear to see. Staff interact beautifully with children. They instinctively react to children's verbal and non-verbal cues and gestures to meet their changing and developing needs. Staff support and engage children in a variety of learning experiences, which are planned effectively to meet their varying needs and interests.

Leaders and staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They encourage children to talk about feelings and emotions, and use techniques and interventions to support emotional and behavioural regulation. Staff reinforce rules and boundaries and remind children to use manners and be polite to their teachers and peers. They implement strong routines, which help children to anticipate what is coming next. Leaders teach the children about the community in which they live. They visit the local parks, farm, and shops. Staff teach children about life cycles and how to care for plants and animals. They take the children on walks in the local area where they explore nature and talk about environmental changes around them.

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

• Leaders have a clear intent for their curriculum and what they want children to learn during their time at the setting. Staff use information collected from parents as well as their own observations to identify each child's next steps. They plan opportunities for children to practice what they know. On occasion, the most-able children do not always have enough opportunity to build on what they know through independent learning. This limits their opportunity to develop their skills to a higher level.
• Leaders provide opportunities for children to learn about events in their own culture and the wider world. For example, they celebrate events such as Diwali, Chinese New Year, and Christmas. Staff teach children to embrace their similarities and differences. This helps children to learn about being respectful of others and their beliefs.
• Leaders implement a strong key-person system to support children's well-being. Children form strong bonds with their key person, who gets to know their key children well. They can confidently identify their achievements, next steps, and any gaps in their learning. The key-person system is well embedded and provides children with the emotional support they need to become resilient and self-assured human beings.
• Leaders implement play plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These are shared with staff and implemented across the setting. Staff are quick to identify gaps in children's learning and input additional support and interventions. Referrals to outside agencies are made quickly and, while waiting for additional support, staff implement their own interventions, such as to best support the child's individual needs. These are done in conjunction with parents and key persons to ensure that the needs of the child are met.
• Leaders and staff place partnerships with parents at the heart of what they do. They work closely with parents to ensure that they have detailed information about children on entry and to help provide smooth settling-in procedures. Staff provide daily handovers and regularly update parents on their child's development and learning, along with ideas of how to help their child's learning at home. This enables parents to be fully involved and provide a coordinated approach to their child's learning.
• Leaders place high emphasis on continuing professional development. They provide staff with endless opportunities to access training and further their knowledge. Training is evaluated and shared with the wider team through regular staff meetings. Leaders carry out supervisions and appraisals, and identify where they want to make future improvements to enhance their practice further. This shows their continued commitment to providing the best care and education for all children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• further enhance independent learning opportunities for the most-able children.