Zion Community Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children happily enter this friendly pre-school, and staff warmly welcome them and ask them their news. Children separate from their parents with ease, put their lunch boxes and water bottles away and hang up their coats. They show they feel safe and secure and know the routines of the day. Children are keen to join in with the activities. Some children enjoy playing with play dough, making faces and describing the features, such as a 'happy mouth' and 'eyes'. Children form good relationships with staff and other children. They readily engage in conversations, talking about their brothers who are at school, for example.

The manager is now clear about her curriculum intent and how she delivers a balanced curriculum that covers the areas of learning. She places a strong emphasis on promoting children's social, communication and language skills. The manager and staff monitor children's progress carefully and put in place support to help children catch up when any gaps in learning are identified. They help children gain the knowledge and skills they need for starting school.

Children develop good levels of independence. Staff help them learn how to put on their coats and use various tools to cut and peel fruit and vegetables. Children lay the table and blow their noses, disposing of their tissues and sanitising their hands afterwards.

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

• The manager and staff have made significant improvements to their practice since the last inspection. They have worked closely with the local authority and attended training and support sessions to improve the curriculum. Staff now place a high focus on developing children's communication and language skills and ensuring that children have access to all areas of learning. At times, they do not ensure the younger children are fully supported to engage them more in the learning opportunities.
• Staff support children's communication and language development effectively. The environment is language rich, and adults and children readily engage in conversations. Staff repeat words correctly for children and introduce new vocabulary, such as 'segment' and 'peel'. Children enjoy singing songs and listening to stories. Staff help them learn the meaning of new words, such as 'proud' and 'lonely'.
• Additional funding is used well to target areas where children need support, and it has a positive impact on children's progress. All children, including those who receive additional funding, make good progress in their development in relation to their starting points.
• Staff attend training that has a positive impact on children's learning. For example, staff have introduced a sensory area for children to have some quiet time if needed. Staff have clear areas for development in order to make improvements to practice. They are all attending training on using hand signs to support all children's communication and language consistently.
• Partnerships with parents are positive. Parents report that they know their children's next steps and are pleased with the progress they have made, particularly in their speech and language and confidence. Parents say that communication with staff is very good and that they are very approachable to talk to at any time. However, staff do not ask pertinent questions about potential outside agencies working with the family to ensure that any information is swiftly shared.
• Children have lots of opportunities to develop their physical skills. They demonstrate their confidence in using the see-saw, using their feet to push themselves up and down and around. Children climb up the slide and crawl through tunnels and balance on tyres. They develop their fine motor skills by, for example, manipulating dough, making marks in the sand with sticks and using various tools, including drawing and painting equipment.
• Staff are skilled at weaving early mathematics into children's play. They talk about quantity, size, shape, and measure. Children show they are developing their mathematical language as they compare the height of a cup and plate, saying the cup is 'taller'. At snack, they compare the sizes of the fruits, confidently pointing to the 'biggest' and 'smallest' orange.
• Children's behaviour is very good. Staff give them lots of praise and encouragement, and children persevere with tasks until they succeed. Children learn to share and take turns with staff, who use sand timers to support this. Staff regularly encourage children to talk about how they are feeling, and they offer support when they are unsettled, such as by reading their favourite story.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• gain more detailed information from parents when there are outside agencies involved with the family to ensure that information is shared more swiftly
• ensure that staff provide more support for the younger children to engage them in the learning opportunities on offer.