Headstart Pre-school LTD

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff create a natural and calm environment for the children. Children gleefully enter the setting to the sound of soft music playing in the background.

This helps children feel comfortable and relaxed as they start their day. Children arrive happy to see the staff and their friends. All children, including those who are new to the setting, separate from their parents with ease.

Children love the outdoors and have access to a vast array of physical development opportunities. They enjoy the freedom of having lots of space to run, play and chase their friends. Children practise their balance and coordination skills as th...ey carefully walk a plank and then jump off the end.

In addition, they slide on their bellies, and use their arms to pull themselves from one side of plank to the other. Staff are good role models. They offer children lots of positive praise and encouragement.

Staff allow children to take safe risks in the outdoors. As a result, children are very confident and have good levels of self-esteem. Children understand the rules of the setting well.

For example, outdoors, they help staff check for any hazards and tell visitors the rules for using the swings and hammocks. Children develop their small physical skills as they make meaningful marks using pencils and pens. For example, children draw themselves and the staff and then talk about how they have different facial and body features.

Staff have worked in partnership with parents and the on-site school during the COVID-19 pandemic. They gave careful consideration to adapting the setting to ensure children could continue to attend yet remain safe. Parents continue to wait at the main gate and their children are individually handed over to their care.

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

There has been a period of change within the leadership team at the setting. This has led to some inconsistencies in the monitoring of staff's practice. In the main, staff play and interact well with children.

However, this is not yet of a consistently high standard. For example, at times, staff are too quick to step in and complete tasks for children, such as wiping their nose, serving them food and opening bottle tops and lids. As a result, the intended curriculum for building children's self-help and independence is not highly effective in supporting this aspect of their learning.

Staff's well-being and workload are managed very well. Leaders appreciate all staffs' contributions and commitment. Meaningful rewards of recognition help to boost staff morale.

Leaders provide training that supports staff in their individual roles. As a result, staff feel valued and are very happy in their work.Children develop well in mathematics.

This is because staff provide good opportunities for children to practise and extend their mathematical skills. For example, staff use mathematical language such as 'big' and 'small' as children hunt for pine cones. Children are challenged to compare the size of the pine cones and then count aloud how many they have found.

Staff know the children very well. They quickly recognise when children may require additional support in their learning. Staff take swift action to ensure that children get the support they need.

As a result, all children, including those who are funded and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, quickly catch up and gain the skills they need for future learning.Partnerships with parents, schools and other agencies are strong. Staff share vital information about children to ensure all those involved in their care and learning are consistently involved.

Parents comment that staff are 'super supportive' and they feel that they are kept fully informed about the progress their children make.At times, staff do not adapt how they deliver some aspects of the curriculum quickly enough to ensure children's unique ways of learning are met. For example, older children need to wait to play outdoors during the morning session.

In addition, staff's interactions during large-group activities do not ensure that all children have equal opportunity to participate and extend their learning. As a result, children are not highly focused and engaged during these times.Children enjoy looking at books with the staff, who use these opportunities well to help children extend their language and vocabulary.

For example, they ask children to find characters from the book, encourage them to find sounds that rhyme, such as 'frog' and 'dog', and to make predictions about what might happen next. As a result, children become confident communicators.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and staff attend safeguarding training. They understand their roles and responsibilities to keep children safe. Staff know what to do should they have a concern about the welfare of a child or the behaviour of a colleague they work with.

Careful consideration is given to risks outdoors. This ensures that children can take safe appropriate risks that support their ongoing physical development.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen supervision arrangements to better support staff to deliver the intended curriculum at consistently high levels review how large-group times and the morning session are carried out to ensure all children can follow their own unique ways of learning and remain highly engaged.

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