Wind In The Willows Preschool Ltd @ ABC Durrington

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their time at this pack-away setting. They receive a new and exciting environment each day. For example, when children enjoy insects and bugs, staff ensure that resources are available to complement their interests. This positively contributes towards children's good behaviours and eagerness to learn. Children guide their own learning, and they develop their ideas through play. Children develop their early maths skills. For example, staff teach them to solve problems, such as building bicycles from construction toys and counting as they move their counters.

Children have formed good friendships at the setting. They play well with their friends and show empathy towards them. Children are curious and inquisitive as they play and show that they are motivated to learn. Children are well prepared for their next stage of learning. Children have good opportunities to develop their physical skills. They enjoy pushing the wheels along outside and cutting up their own fruit at snack time.

Staff understand the importance of supporting children's personal, social and emotional development. They are kind and nurturing and always available to children who need emotional support. The key-person system helps children to feel understood, cared about and safe. Staff regularly discuss children's next steps to ensure that all staff know children well. This promotes continuity in children's learning. Children have a wealth of choice in their routine. For instance, they have an opportunity to engage in play, both indoors and outdoors. This positively supports children who prefer to learn outside.

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

• The manager and staff are committed to providing high-quality care and education for all children. They reflect on the pre-school and plan a broad curriculum that supports children effectively to make good progress. Staff carefully follow children's interests. For example, children enjoy creating games using the pretend bugs. Staff extend this by providing children with magnifying glasses to explore real bugs around the garden. Staff use information from observations and assessments from the start to monitor children's progress and quickly narrow any gaps in learning.
• Staff work well with other professionals involved in children's care. They work together to plan for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. All children, including children in receipt of additional funding, make good progress in their learning and development.
• Staff set expectations for behaviour at the start of each day. Older children explain the 'golden rules' and remind their younger friends of the routine activities that happen during the day. Children have a good understanding of the expectations for their behaviour and remind each other during play. Children share, take turns and behave well.
• Partnerships with parents are very good. Parents are very complimentary about the 'friendly and welcoming staff'. They are kept well informed about their child's day through daily communications and regular parents' evenings.
• Children's independence is supported well. Children enjoy making choices about their play, based on their interests. For example, they choose whether to play inside or outside, select their own toys and clear away after themselves during lunchtime. Children's health and hygiene is also supported effectively. Children wash their own hands before eating and have discussions about healthy foods and the importance of good oral health. This helps children to understand the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.
• Staff focus on developing children's communication skills. They model the use of spoken English well. Staff speak slowly and clearly, using simple words and phrases to support children's understanding. They describe what children are doing and ask lots of questions. However, staff do not always ask open-ended questions or give children enough time to think abut what they are being asked to build their communication skills even further.
• The pre-school has a varied collection of books and children develop a love of reading through stories and looking at books with their friends. However, there are fewer opportunities for children to develop their early writing skills as resources are not easily available to children, and staff do not encourage children to use the writing materials which are available.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to engage in open-ended questions and give children more time to consider their responses to questions before moving on, to enable children to develop their thinking skills and extend their communication skills even further
• extend opportunities for children to develop their early writing skills.