Willerby & Kirk Ella Pre School Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Practitioners are extremely passionate, caring and very enthusiastic. They get to know all children very well. As a result, children form strong attachments with practitioners. Children settle immediately. They play and learn in a safe and exciting learning environment. Practitioners are affectionate to children, which is reciprocated. They provide support to children that are quiet and offer them reassurance. All children engage fully. Practitioners provide an ambitious curriculum which is based on children's individual needs. For example, they turn a number game into a memory game by turning cards over to follow children's interests in being detectives. Children are extremely happy and content.

Practitioners have high expectations for children's learning and development. They complete thorough assessments and observations of what children can do. They use this information securely to plan children's next steps in learning and challenge them. Practitioners deliver targeted interventions, such as strategies to support children's early communication, speech and language. The curriculum is embedded securely and consistently across the setting. Children make excellent progress, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Children's behaviour is exemplary. Practitioners are skilled in gaining children's attention and maintaining it. For example, practitioners role play baking a cake, using large expressive hand gestures and facial expressions. They adapt the tone and volume of their voice, showing excitement and passion. This encourages children to be curious, motivated and enthusiastic. Children are eager to join in and are kind to their friends. They share resources and help each other to use scissors safely. Practitioners are kind and responsive to all children's needs. They pay careful attention to those children who are new and settling in. As a result, all children are confident and learn to behave well.

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

• Practitioners provide lots of opportunities for children to strengthen their large muscles. Children excitedly race their friends on bicycles. They learn to ride fast and slow and how to stop and start. Children negotiate space and obstacles. Practitioners teach children about speed and distance. They support children to balance and ride scooters. Practitioners celebrate children's achievements when they successfully master the skill of balancing. Children increasingly show high levels of confidence in social situations when learning to ride bicycles.
• Practitioners embed mathematics throughout the curriculum. Children scoop and pour sand into different-size containers. Practitioners teach them about volume, size and weight. Children link chains together and pull them apart. Practitioners encourage them to sort by colour, counting as they do so. Children play exciting mathematics games, such as pretending to be detectives to search out hidden numbers. They learn about shapes when connecting construction pieces. Practitioners support children to make the shapes with their hands and fingers. Children develop the knowledge they need for when they start school.
• Children develop their imaginations. They dress up as superheroes and pretend to be strong and help their friends. Practitioners encourage children to use their imaginations to create a world filled with their favourite dinosaurs. They learn rich new language, such as 'pterodactyl', 'extinct' and 'superpowers'. Children show curiosity in their play.
• Practitioners are highly successful at giving children experiences that promote an understanding of people and communities. Children take part in recycling. They learn what happens to rubbish and what it does to the environment. Children grow vegetables and flowers. Practitioners teach children about life cycles. They provide opportunities for children to meet professionals from different occupations. Children meet police officers, nurses, dentists and vets. This helps them to learn about the people who help them and how to keep themselves and their friends safe.
• The setting has a mascot called 'Ginny the Giraffe'. Children take the mascot home and learn how to take care of him. They take him on holiday and to visit different countries. Practitioners encourage children to take part in 'show-and-tell sessions' when they return. Children confidently talk about their adventures with the mascot. They recall items they needed and why, such as 'sun cream' and a 'hat' for hot weather. This helps children to take responsibility for their own learning.
• Practitioners work extremely well with parents. They provide a whole-family approach to the children in their care. Parents are part of their child's learning and progress. They set goals, create plans together and engage in activities through home learning. Practitioners share information through information boards, learning journals and meetings. Parents report that communication sharing and support are excellent. They feel part of their child's learning.
• The manager ensures that practitioners receive focused, effective professional development. Practitioners carry out regular peer observations to improve the quality of education. As a team, practitioners reflect, share ideas and create new activities for practice. They have regular supervision sessions and appraisals. The manager encourages training and ownership of the curriculum. Practitioners feel valued and appreciated. This impacts the care and education which they provide for all children.