Braunston Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and excited to play from the moment they arrive at the setting. Staff offer them a warm welcome and talk to them about what they have done at home, helping them to quickly settle and feel reassured.

Children benefit from the consistent routines and expectations staff teach them, such as practising hanging their coats up on their peg. Staff use what children are interested in to help them join in and feel assured during the transitions of the day, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, during tidy-up time, staff help children to put toys back where they belong... using a toy crane as a continuation of their play.

They encourage children to count each item and praise them for their rapidly developing independence. Children behave well and follow staff's instructions without hesitation. They learn good manners from staff, such as saying 'bless you' when others sneeze.

Children patiently wait for their friends in a line, taking turns to pick a piece of fruit and pour their own drink. They help their friends when they need it.Children enjoy playing together and develop close friendships.

They develop their confidence and creativity while holding hands and dancing together to different music. Children are thrilled to tell their friends that staff have put the 'Friday song' on. Staff help children to develop different physical skills, guiding them to follow different instructions such as stretching and balancing in time to the songs.

They help children to learn new vocabulary, such as by explaining that doing something at the same time is referred to as being in 'unison'.

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

Staff work alongside the parents and carers of their key children to identify what knowledge and skills children already have and can do. All staff assess children's development and progress as they play alongside them and aim to identify moment by moment how their teaching can extend and continue the children's learning.

They meet as a team regularly to share this information and discuss what children, as individuals and as a larger group, need to learn next.Staff plan a wide range of activities as a team that focus on children following their own interests. They foster children's imagination in the role-play area, playing hairdressers and restaurants with them.

Staff teach children the language they would use if they were food delivery people and explain new concepts to them, such as what sushi is. They start to encourage children to create a menu and take orders. However, as staff did not have the resources in the environment that they needed to extend this play, such as paper and writing equipment, children became distracted.

Staff interact with children in a way that supports their communication and language. They have recently developed the reading area, which has helped children further develop a love of books. Children imitate staff when reading to their friends, asking questions and retelling the story.

They giggle infectiously as staff help them read the words in 'The Wonky Donkey' and identify other funny rhyming sounds. Occasionally, some staff are too prescriptive in what to do and how to do it during play. Therefore, they do not give children the same opportunities to think and follow their own ideas during all interactions.

Staff teach children how to share and negotiate from a young age. They explain how to use 'kind elbows' to make sure their friends have space to play alongside them. Staff support children to explain to others if they do not like something and which words they can use to talk about how they feel.

Leaders place a great emphasis on working alongside the staff team and promoting staff well-being. This is particularly influenced by the deputy manager. Staff regularly observe and feed back on each other's practice to identify areas that could improve.

Leaders use this information to provide staff with training and coaching opportunities to help develop their skills and abilities.Parents are extremely happy with the communication and care that staff provide. They explain that staff use a variety of ways to ensure they are fully informed about children's development, including how they can support their children at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nimprove how staff resource the environment to support children to develop and extend their learning through play support staff to further develop the quality of their interactions and be able to implement the chosen curriculum more consistently.