Bears In The Park Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy a safe, secure environment that supports them to build on their learning with joy. Staff are warm and caring with all children in their care. They know children well and are sensitive to their immediate needs.

This helps children to settle in quickly and develop close emotional attachments. Children form friendships with each other as they laugh and have fun. Children are well behaved.

Staff have high expectations for children's learning and extend activities to challenge older children. For example, children proudly display their pictures and are beginning to write the letters to represent the objects i...n their drawings, for example 'bus'. Children develop good early literacy skills.

Children talk confidently to visitors. They describe what they like doing at the pre-school and what they have been doing. For example, they share their experiences with confidence about cooking peppermints that they make while learning about Christmas.

They talk excitedly about the ingredients they need and the amounts they measured. The manager uses additional funding effectively to meet the individual needs of children. All children, including those in receipt of additional funding and children who speak English as an additional language, make good progress from their starting points.

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

Children and staff make regular trips to the adjoining parkland to explore a range of activities. On the day of inspection, children thoroughly enjoyed recreating the story of 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'. They 'squelched' in the mud and walked through the 'swishy swashy' grass looking for the bear.

Staff engaged in creative play with the children and extended children's learning well.There is a broad curriculum and a successful range of well-planned opportunities for children, based on what they already know and can do, and building on their interests. For example, staff support children to work together to create a large display for Christmas.

Younger children use play dough to name body parts such as ears and eyes.Children learn about the wider community. The manager organises trips for them to go on.

For example, they visit the local statues of interest and local shops. However, opportunities are missed to fully acknowledge and value the diverse backgrounds of those children attending.Staff promote children's communication and language development particularly well.

For instance, at group time, they recognise and name the sounds of initial words. Children use musical instruments to count and tap out the rhythm in songs. This supports children's early mathematical development.

Generally, children's good health is promoted well. Children have opportunities throughout the day to rest and to play outdoors in the fresh air. They eat nutritious snacks, and good attention is paid to meeting their dietary requirements.

However, on occasions, staff do not support younger children to wash their hands before eating.Partnerships with parents are very good. Parents comment positively about their experiences with the pre-school and the staff who care for their children.

They explain how they use the online system to exchange information about their children's learning and development at home and at the pre-school.Staff know the children well. They make accurate assessments about children's achievements.

They quickly notice when children need extra help. They work in partnership with parents and other professionals to provide the support children need to achieve and to close any gaps in learning rapidly.The committed manager leads a well-qualified staff team.

They have regular meetings to evaluate the effectiveness of the pre-school and continuously reflect on the experiences they provide for children. For example, the manager has recently introduced a new planning system. Staff receive a wealth of training, coaching and supervision meetings to develop their knowledge.

This helps to improve practice and outcomes for children. The manager gathers views from the parents and children. She embeds this in a comprehensive action plan that she shares with parents.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Since the last inspection, the manager and her team have implemented an effective and robust system for identifying and managing risks. The manager has compiled a detailed risk assessment to share with staff.

Staff know how to report any identified risks to management. Staff have a good knowledge of child protection and the signs to be concerned about in relation to child welfare. They know how to report any child welfare concerns to the relevant professional.

Staff receive regular training to ensure their knowledge is kept up to date. The manager follows effective recruitment procedures to ensure the suitability of all staff working with children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nensure that staff constantly implement robust hygiene procedures and teach children the importance of these consider further ways in which to acknowledge and value the ethnic and cultural diversity of the children attending.