Alne Preschool Playgroup

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are settled, happy and safe at the setting. The key-person system is effective, and children form positive bonds with staff. All staff ensure that they meet children's individual care needs.

The effectiveness of care practices has a positive impact on children's confidence and emotional well-being. Staff show respect and consideration when asking children whether they are ready to have their nappy changed. Staff are positive role models and have high expectations for children's learning and behaviour.

As a result, children's behaviour is good. Children show kindness and consideration for each other, for exampl...e when offering a chair next to them at the snack table. They also talk about who is sitting 'opposite' or 'next to' them.

Children have designated spaces on the wall to display their artwork. This promotes their self-esteem and gives them a sense of belonging. Children have positive attitudes to play and learning.

They show an interest in the environment and resources available. Children have easy access to a varied range of activities indoors and outdoors.

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

Children show patience when waiting for their turn at the snack table and when waiting to be involved in a pancake making activity.

Staff extend children's thinking skills when discussing where different ingredients come from. Children make comparisons between different food items, such as oranges and lemons. They also have opportunities to build on what they already know.

They talk about the recent snow and what happens to snow when it melts.Children demonstrate confidence, independence and respect for the environment and resources. They are fully involved in tidying-up routines.

Children persist and show resilience when dressing themselves for outdoor play, repeatedly attempting to fasten coat zips until they succeed.Children learn about the local community during walks and visits. This helps to promote their understanding of the world.

They are also involved in activities which help them to learn about their uniqueness and differences. For example, children learn about different family make-ups, different types of homes and different people living in a home. They also learn about what makes them unique when discussing the differences in their hair colour, length and style.

Children love being outdoors. The good design of the outdoor play area promotes children's physical development and their creativity and imagination. Children take risks to develop their physical skills, for example when climbing on tyres.

They show pride in their achievements and ask adults and peers to look 'how high' they have climbed. However, not all resources in the outdoor play area are routinely cleaned.Some children show an interest in books and read a book together in a small group.

However, children have fewer opportunities to be involved in story, singing and rhyme times to promote language and early literacy skills. Despite this, children are generally developing well across all areas of learning.Children use their imagination well when involved in role play indoors and outdoors.

Some children play cooperatively in small groups and some play alongside each other. They use mathematical language often when involved in role play, for example when counting food items and talking about 'more', 'less', 'heavy'. Children also use scales to weigh food.

However, there are limited resources and opportunities for children to access and learn about technology.Staff work well in partnership with parents. Staff receive relevant information from parents, which forms the basis of each child's care and learning.

They appropriately monitor and assess children's ongoing learning and development. However, staff do not always use assessments effectively to plan specific and focused next steps for each child. Some staff are more confident than others, but overall teaching is generally good.

Staff keep parents well informed about their children's development and progress on a regular basis. Parents also receive advice and support from staff with ideas and resources for extending their children's learning and development at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff demonstrate a sound knowledge and understanding of how to keep children safe. They are able to identify the signs of possible abuse and neglect and are aware of the procedure to follow. Staff work well together as a team and ensure a safe and secure indoor and outdoor environment for children.

They have a positive attitude towards continuous professional development and have completed additional training since the previous inspection. There are effective staff recruitment, induction and supervision procedures in place, and staff state they feel well supported.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nuse assessments of children's learning effectively, to plan specific and focused next steps for each child provide more opportunities for children to listen and respond to stories, songs and rhymes provide more resources and opportunities for children to access and learn about technology nensure that all resources are maintained to a good level of cleanliness.

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