Ofsted Report

Ofsted Report

Our latest Ofsted Inspection was on 14th January 2022 and we were given the rating Good.

Summary of key findings for parents

What is it like to attend this early years setting? 

Children excitedly come into pre-school, where they are greeted warmly by staff. They are happy, well cared for, and have good relationships with staff. If needed, children feel confident in going to their key person for reassurance. Children's views are highly valued, and staff give them the chance to make decisions. They are encouraged to choose which toys they would like out for the day as part of the morning group time. Children listen well as they share their views with each other. They learn new skills through carefully thought-out activities. For example, staff model how to use scissors correctly. Children beam when they successfully cut the paper. Children avidly talk about their past experiences as they play. For example, they talk about their birthday cakes and parties as they make 'cake' out of shaving foam.

Children behave well. They understand the boundaries and staff expectations. Children are kind and caring towards one another. Older children take turns with popular resources confidently. Younger children learn to take turns with skilful support from staff. Staff have high expectations for all children. Children receive frequent praise and encouragement. This helps to build their self-esteem. Children's individual needs are prioritised. This supports children in making good progress from their starting points. For example, children do not move up to the older room until they are developmentally ready to do so. 

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

• The manager develops an inclusive curriculum that supports all children and their individual learning needs. She is clear about what she wants children to learn. This includes the key skills that children need in preparation for school, such as being able to communicate clearly. 

• The manager is aware of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's personal, social and emotional development. She quickly puts strategies in place to support children with this. For example, she encourages children to take part in small-group activities to develop their social skills.  

• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) quickly identifies any areas of concern in a child's development. She works closely with the key person and parents to ensure appropriate interventions, including referrals to outside professionals, are put in place in a timely manner.  

• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are skilfully supported in their learning. The SENCO ensures that staff are aware of the strategies in place and how to use them, such as giving children countdowns to the end of activities. Staff use their expertise to implement strategies while they wait for outside agencies to make their assessments. For example, they use pictures and simple gestures to communicate with children. 

• Children are encouraged to be independent with some tasks, such as getting their lunch box and opening food wrappers. However, children do not always use their independence skills. This is because staff will do simple tasks for them, such as putting on coats and taking off aprons. 

• Children show enjoyment when looking at books on their own and with staff. They take part in their favourite stories using puppets. They excitedly show staff when they have the matching puppet to the animal on the page. Children eagerly repeat familiar phrases as they are read to. For example, they call out that the 'giraffe is too tall' as they read 'Dear Zoo'. They keenly tell staff the next part of the story. 

• Staff feel well supported by the manager. They talk highly of the team and comment that, 'it feels like a family'. There are systems in place to monitor and discuss staff performance. However, because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, supervision meetings have become infrequent. This means there is less of a focus on identifying training needs and developing staffs' good knowledge, skills and practice further. 

• Parents comment positively on the partnerships between themselves and staff. They feel that the communication is excellent. Parents highly praise the kind and caring staff. They comment that staff support the whole family. Parents keenly talk about the regular updates they receive about their children's development. They talk highly of the personalised approach to settling children in. This means that children settle in to the pre-school more easily and parents feel reassured. 

Safeguarding 

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 

All staff have a secure understanding of their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children. They know the signs and symptoms that may be a cause for concern. This includes unexpected absences, which are quickly followed up on. Staff ensure that any concerns are raised with the designated safeguarding lead and, if needed, appropriate referrals are made to outside agencies. Staff are aware of their duty to follow up on concerns as needed. They are confident in their understanding of the referral process to follow. The manager is aware of how to access the service provided by the local authority to discuss any safeguarding concerns. She confidently works with the local authority to provide support for families. The manager has a secure understanding of how to recruit robustly. 

What does the setting need to do to improve? 

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: 

• further develop children's independence skills by encouraging them to manage simple tasks for themselves 

• provide staff with supervision that identifies and targets weaknesses in their practice, and ensure they receive effective coaching, mentoring and professional development that raises the quality of the provision even further.