100 Acrewood Preschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are very happy and secure. The dedicated staff pride themselves on the effective settling-in process that supports all children to build a sense of belonging. Children display strong bonds with staff, and new children quickly build attachments with their designated key person.

The setting recognises the utmost importance of gathering lots of initial information from parents about their children's interests and needs. Therefore, staff plan a curriculum that closely follows children's own choices and changing fascinations. Children are confident, resilient and curious in their play and learning through the effective role... modelling of the staff team.

Children behave well. Staff help them to gain the skills they require to work well with others, and this supports their future learning. For instance, staff ask children their opinions and give explanations that children are able to understand.

Children have lots of freedom to explore indoors and outdoors. They confidently access the rich learning resources and activities planned for them. Children manage simple risks in their play as they balance on beams, investigate in the mud kitchen with herbs and natural items and ride on bikes.

This helps children to have access to fresh air and to increase their physical skills and abilities.

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

Children make good progress. Staff carefully watch their development and plan appropriate next steps to help children succeed, including children who are in receipt of additional funding.

Staff are intuitive in how they plan the environment and the range of resources for children to access at the setting. For example, there is an abundance of sensory experiences for children to explore with textures and sensations in their play. Children delight in squeezing lemons into water to create 'special tea'.

They squash mint to release the aromas and spend a lot of time making their own creations, which supports their concentration skills.Overall, children are provided with a broad curriculum that covers all the areas of learning. Younger children explore with shapes and colours as an early introduction to mathematics.

Older children build a tall tower and carefully add more bricks to see how high they can make it before it falls over. However, at times, mathematical activities for older children do not build on and extend their learning successfully. This does not fully help them to build a deeper knowledge and understanding of additional mathematical concepts.

The leadership team is very supportive in its approach towards the staff. Staff have regular supervision meetings and training opportunities. For instance, staff regularly attend first-aid and safeguarding training to help them to protect the children in their care to the best of their abilities.

The leaders are very reflective in evaluating the quality of all areas of the pre-school. For example, the team is currently reviewing how it can incorporate more risk and challenge opportunities for children outdoors.Children are learning about nature in the world around them.

They use a variety of resources, such as acorns and pine cones, to make imprints, patterns and marks in play dough. During this time, they discuss with staff the different surfaces, colours and textures as they handle these. This helps children to develop the skills they require for early literacy skills and competence in using a variety of tools and resources.

Staff take a genuine interest in each and every child who attends the setting. Children learn to respect and include others in their play to develop higher levels of understanding. However, they do not have many opportunities in their everyday play to explore diversity and learn more about the differences and similarities in themselves and others.

Children are developing good communication and language skills, supported through effective practice of the staff team. Children are given time to answer questions asked of them to build on their increasing vocabulary. They delight in story time with staff when they point and look at pictures in their favourite books.

Children enjoy circle time together and become excited as they sing songs linked to items in the story sack. They show their increasing memory and recall skills as they competently sing all the words to the songs they remember.Partnerships with parents form a fundamental part of the ethos for the pre-school.

Parents value the attention and time that are given to them and their children from the team. There is a constant two-way flow of communication, with leaders taking time each and every day to greet and welcome children and families. Therefore, parents feel fully included in their child's development, progress and achievements.

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: nincrease support for older and most able children to develop a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts strengthen opportunities for children to learn more about the differences and similarities between themselves and others.