St James’ Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents

The provision is good • The manager and staff have successfully addressed the areas for improvement that were identified at the previous inspection.

Together, they ensure that children make good progress and enjoy their learning. • The pre-school is a welcoming setting which is valued by parents, staff and children. The strong values that underpin the pre-school's work support children's personal development and well-being effectively.

• Staff have a secure understanding of how children learn and develop. They use settling-in procedures effectively to ensure that children's individual needs and interests are understood. Staff plan activities effectively to build on child...ren's knowledge and skills.

• The curriculum is strong. Staff make good use of visitors and specialists to enhance children's skills, such as in ballet, ball skills and in their understanding of farm animals. • Staff work well with parents and provide them with useful information about children's learning.

Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the nurture and care provided. It is not yet outstanding because: • Sometimes, staff miss opportunities to extend children's thinking skills and offer appropriate levels of challenge in children's learning. • Staff interactions with children are not consistently of the highest quality, particularly in enabling children to make even better progress in their language and communication development.