Yealmpton Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children come happily into this friendly pre-school. They settle quickly, including younger children who have recently started with them. Staff provide an extremely warm welcome and children feel safe, as staff know them well. Children approach staff for reassurance and cuddles, which they readily receive. Parents speak highly of staff, saying that they 'go the extra mile' to keep them updated about their child's progress.

Children behave well and staff deal with small differences of opinions quickly and positively. They support children to think about using positive reactions to others, and talk through what children could do so everyone is happy. This means that children play well together and build secure relationships with each other.

Staff have high expectations of all children. They have a good understanding of each child, and adapt activities to support them to make good progress. For example, they adapt a Christmas card activity, so all children are challenged and supported to make a card for their family. This means children are excited to learn and keen to join in the activities planned for them. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress in their learning and development.

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

• Staff create good relationships with parents and other settings children attend. They use three-way communication to make sure that everyone is well informed about the children in their care. Parents are keen to share the progress their children have made in their learning. Staff use this information, and their ongoing assessments of children, to create an engaging and ambitious curriculum.
• The manager supports staff to develop their skills and knowledge. She uses regular observations of practice to select training to improve the quality of teaching and learning. The manager and staff quickly identify gaps in children's learning and development and put interventions in place. Gaps in learning and development are closing for children with SEND.
• Children learn about the community in which they live. They benefit from regular trips in the locality. For example, they join local groups for their coffee mornings and visit the church to decorate Christmas trees and hold their nativity. They develop a strong sense of self and are confident children.
• Staff place a strong focus on developing children's communication and language skills. They have completed training to improve their ability to positively support children's communication development. They repeat young children's words, modelling correct pronunciation, and use simple signs to support their understanding. Staff ask older children to explain their thinking and build their ability to communicate their thoughts. However, the organisation of story time activities does not provide opportunities for all children to remain engaged and share their thoughts and ideas to practise these skills.
• Children enjoy daily outings outdoors. They learn to assess risks and how to keep themselves safe while crossing roads on walks to the local woods. They chat with staff and their friends on the walks and show curiosity in the world around them. For example, they explore how ice feels and decide to experiment to see how long it takes for the ice to melt on leaves. They enjoy playing parachute games which supports their physical development, and practise their counting skills while playing hide and seek.
• The staff work closely with teachers at the local school. They join the Reception class for shared sessions and visit the school weekly for lunch in the term before children start at the school. This helps children to make a smooth transition to school.
• Staff model and support children to understand respectful behaviour. They encourage children to take turns, share and tell their friends when they do not like something with 'words'. Children are kind and polite. They say 'please' and 'thank you' independently when interacting with others. On occasion, older children are not always challenged on walks outside the pre-school, which affects their normally good behaviour.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide more challenge for older children during visits outside the pre-school so they continue to behave well and engage in positive play
• develop the use of story times to encourage all children, including younger ones, to join in and share their thoughts to support their engagement and communication skills.