Whiston Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are very happy throughout their time in the friendly and well-run pre-school. They make good progress overall from their personal starting points and are well prepared for the next stage in their learning, including starting school. Children learn to be confident and curious and are keen to learn. For example, they love to explore the exciting grounds carefully on a scavenger hunt for bugs and plants. They keep a tally of their findings and choose to reproduce them in drawings, paintings or other media.

Children are safe in the warm care of the enthusiastic staff. Staff establish good relationships with children and their families from the start. This helps children, including children with special educational needs and or disabilities (SEND), settle quickly and securely into their learning. Children learn to build friendships and to trust others as they play together. For example, they work together to create and use a safe but challenging obstacle course with crates and other materials.

Children behave very well. They learn to be polite and courteous in response to staff's high expectations. Children follow instructions and look after each other. For instance, they wait their turn and give each other space to use the steps and slides on the climbing frames in their own time. Parents feel that they are very engaged in and well informed about the life of the pre-school.

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

• Staff promote children's speaking and listening skills well, overall. They regularly sing songs, for example, and read stories that introduce children to new words and phrases. Staff engage children in friendly conversations as they play. However, sometimes, staff do not take all opportunities to help children fully extend and enrich their vocabulary.
• The experienced and well-qualified manager provides passionate and focused leadership. She has created a strong and ambitious staff team. Staff morale is high because they feel that their contributions are valued and their work is respected. The manager carefully reviews the effectiveness of the pre-school and draws on the views of children, staff and parents.
• The staff plan an exciting curriculum overall to support children's progress and introduce them to new ideas and skills. For example, children learn about the importance of recycling and using resources creatively through the regular 'no paper' day. Children are busy and play purposefully. However, staff do not consistently provide opportunities for children to reflect on their experiences and deepen their recall and understanding of their learning.
• Staff strongly support children with SEND. They identify gaps in children's learning and development at an early stage. Staff work closely with other professionals, such as speech therapists, to plan future learning. They make good use of additional funding. For example, staff offer sensory play experiences to help children's emotional well-being or sign language to support their speaking skills.
• Children are strongly supported to develop a love of reading. Staff share well-chosen books with children throughout their sessions. They read stories well to build children's anticipation and engagement. For example, children love to join in the repeated sentences in 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'. They use remembered phrases, such as 'squelch, squerch', as they play with their play dough.
• Staff promote children's good behaviour and personal development well. They help children to make decisions. For instance, children vote for the story they would like to hear by standing next to their choice of book. Staff successfully encourage children to say 'please' and 'thank you' throughout their play and at snack times.
• Staff help children to develop their physical control and body management. Children are encouraged to make large shapes and patterns in their water wall painting and to use thick and fine paintbrushes and pens. These skills support their early letter recognition and writing development. Children enjoy physical challenges, such as riding their balance bikes down the sloping grass at increasing speeds.
• Parents are proud to send their children to this pre-school. They appreciate the care that staff take and the progress their children make. They particularly comment on the staff's sensitive support for children's social skills after the impact of lockdown periods during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents feel that they receive a very good range of useful information on their children's achievements.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus staff development on ensuring all opportunities are taken to further enrich and develop children's vocabulary
• strengthen planning and organisation to provide further opportunities for children to reflect on their learning experiences and deepen their recall and understanding.