Woodside's Little Me Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive excited, enthusiastic and eager to learn. They are greeted by happy and welcoming staff and leave their parents with ease. Children settle very quickly at well-presented activities within a most child-friendly and inviting environment. Children are comfortable and confident and move around engaging in activities of their choice. Children delight in story time. They sit comfortably and listen with intent. Staff have established close bonds with the children and know them well. Children communicate their needs and the staff are very attentive.

Children are familiar with the routines and what is expected of them. Children are polite and their behaviour is extremely good. They show kindness and concern for one another. They learn to share and negotiate when taking turns. Staff positively encourage children to be independent. For example, children thoroughly enjoy snack time. Their play is not interrupted as they decide when to eat. Children develop a sense of belonging as they self-register to indicate they have had snack. They choose from a range of healthy fruits from the buffet. They are encouraged to wash up their plate and cup when they finish. Children's language is developing well. Staff engage children in conversations and introduce new words to broaden their vocabulary, such as 'sphere' and 'scavenger'.

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

• Parents speak extremely positively of the care their children receive. They comment that the staff are very supportive, communicate well and that their children have made very good progress since attending. Parents comment that the staff are 'fabulous' and spend time getting to know their children. They comment that they feel reassured their child is safe and having fun. Parents discuss how easily their children settle. They fully appreciate the lending book library and the suggestions they receive to extend their child's learning at home.
• Children benefit from a broad curriculum. The staff use initial assessments well and know what the children need to learn next. They positively follow children's own interests when planning. Staff challenge children's thinking. For example, children make play dough. When the mixture is too wet, they are prompted to think what is needed to make the right consistency. Children show great satisfaction as they solve the problem.
• All children's communication skills, including those who speak English as an additional language, are fully supported and progressing well. Children are confident speakers and ask lots of questions. The environment is rich in text and staff engage children in meaningful conversations. However, on occasions, staff do not allow children sufficient time to think and process information to respond, before asking further questions.
• The well-established key-person system in place promotes children's emotional security. All children, including those who require additional support, settle quickly and confidently engage in activities. Children show fascination and sustained levels of concentration, when using the sensory play equipment. They sit with their friends in the wigwam as they create stories using the small world figures and puppets.
• The manager is very ambitious. She has high expectations for her staff and the children. The manager fully supports her staff to develop their own professional development. She is fully aware of the positive impact training has on the outcomes for children attending. The manager has effective engagement with the staff. Appraisals, supervisions and daily communication means she is fully aware of any issues. Staff comment that they are happy, feel supported and valued, and that their well-being is considered. However, planned monitoring of staff practice is not as frequent and, therefore, opportunities to improve and enhance practice may be missed.
• The quality of education is good. Children are encouraged to recall what they have learned. For example, children experience sitting on a tractor in the field. Staff ask the children how many pedals the tractor had and what colour it was. Children are eager to answer and are praised for remembering. They enjoy a supervised walk in the field. Children work together in small groups as they look for clues on a clipboard provided. They excitedly point out a bird's nest and signs in the environment. They make good guesses as to what they may say. Children make good attempts at early writing skills as they document what they have seen.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• give children more time to think and respond to questions, developing their language and conversation skills further
• monitor the quality of teaching and learning even more closely to identify how practice can be enhanced to achieve the highest level of learning experiences.