World's End Under Fives Centre

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff greet children warmly at this inclusive and welcoming pre-school. These warm and reassuring interactions are consistent throughout the day and reflect the secure relationships that staff have with children. Most of the staff team have worked at this setting for many years and have an excellent knowledge of the local community. This means they understand the needs of local families and are highly skilled and committed to meeting these.

Staff have identified clear curriculum priorities for children. These include developing children's confidence and self-esteem as the foundation for learning across other areas. Staff adapt activities to meet the needs of different age groups. They weave children's interests into their planning to motivate and engage children. For example, staff provide older children with space-themed activities that promote more challenging vocabulary. Children happily make choices about what they wish to play with and show high levels of engagement and enjoyment.

Staff are excellent role models of respectful and positive relationships. They work together to deliver predictable routines and share high expectations of children's behaviour. They focus on rewarding positive behaviours and are specific in their praise so that children understand what they have done well. They actively teach children important skills, such as how to sit at a table to eat or how to wait for their turn. As such, staff at this setting play an essential role in preparing young children for their next stage of learning, and beyond.

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

• Staff place an appropriate focus on building children's communication and language skills. They are strong models of spoken English and constantly narrate as children play. They model new words, often supported by pictures or objects, and understand the importance of repetition. As such, children make good progress in their understanding and use of spoken English.
• Staff deliver carefully planned group sessions to build children's listening and attention skills. They teach with energy and skill so that children remain engaged in the learning. For example, children learn animal names that they did not know before the session started. Staff explain how these sessions build over time to ensure children make progress. However, staff do not feel as confident delivering the mathematics curriculum and cannot explain how maths skills progress in the same way.
• Staff work together seamlessly between the pre-school and the drop-in centre to exchange information about families and children. This supports smooth transitions as most children attend the drop-in prior to joining the pre-school. All children benefit from opportunities the centre provides during the school holidays, such as free trips to museums and farms. This provides them with important experiences that broaden their understanding of the world.
• Staff are committed to inclusive practice and have high expectations of every child. They know children very well and can talk about their unique needs and what each child is working to develop. They engage with parents and other professionals to secure support for children with special educational needs as quickly as possible. Staff have effective strategies in place to ensure all children can access the learning. For example, they use visual prompts consistently to help children understand routines. As such, all children make good progress from their individual starting points.
• The manager uses additional funding to provide hot lunches and snacks. She explains the importance of providing children with varied snacks, both for the nutritional value but also exposing them to textures and tastes that they may not have experienced at home. She plans to use further funding to train staff in Makaton to strengthen their commitment to inclusive learning.
• Staff understand the importance of working with families to ensure the best possible start for children. They offer advice to parents and know where to signpost them for support in the local area. They offer training courses for parents in a range of areas, such as understanding children's behaviour. Parents comment that staff are very friendly and they are grateful for the support the centre offers them.
• The manager attends training to keep her knowledge and skills up to date. Her most recent training has inspired her to improve the teaching of early mathematics in the pre-school. Staff comment they are proud to work at this setting due to what they achieve for families and children in the community.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop a well-sequenced curriculum for mathematical development and build staff confidence in teaching early mathematical concepts.