Belgrave Pre-School Playgroup

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Belgrave Pre-school Playgroup is a very inclusive and diverse pre-school. It has an extremely dedicated staff team that is very well led and managed. Children settle well and form strong bonds with their key persons.

They freely approach staff and sidle onto their lap, when feeling the need for comfort or reassurance.Staff have extremely high expectations for children's behaviour. Children show high levels of confidence in different situations, particularly when playing in the home area.

They are highly motivated and exceptionally eager to join in with the wealth of activities on offer. They play very cooperatively tog...ether and talk with each other in a respectful manner. They demonstrate high levels of self-control when playing games and are respectful of the rules as they are deemed to be 'out'.

Staff extend children's vocabulary well as they play. Staff introduce new words, such as 'empty' and 'petrol tank', and acknowledge when children share a word that staff do not know, demonstrating how they can learn too.Visitors, such as the community support police officer, are invited into the pre-school to help children to keep themselves safe.

They talk to children about listening to adults and explain how to seek help if needed, when on an outing.

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

Staff design a well-balanced curriculum that is ambitious and builds on individual children's experiences and what they already know and can do. They make specific adaptations to the pre-school to cater for children's needs.

Children who speak English as an additional language are encouraged to use their home language in play. Staff make cards that children can take home to share with parents that show words in English and their home language. Staff constantly make improvements to practice.

For example, they have changed their planning system. They now feel that children are more relaxed as staff seize opportunities as they arise to extend children's learning.Relationships at all levels are excellent.

These reflect a respectful culture, where interactions are of high quality. Staff read stories in a lively way, so that children remain fully engaged, interested and involved in the story. As children play 'what's in the bag?' they sing rhymes and songs with actions and enjoy taking part.

As children make 'soup' they use all their senses to explore as they smell the herbs, taste the lemon and feel the branches from the Christmas tree.Partnerships with parents are very good. Parents feel that they are kept involved in their children's learning through various methods and speak highly of staff.

Their comments include, 'Staff are very knowledgeable and instinctive with children. They are exceptional and always go the extra mile. All staff are so loving and caring and nothing is ever too much trouble'.

Staff provide healthy snacks and drinks at snack time. However, they do not always provide consistent messages to all parents. Staff do not support them fully to understand about practices such as eating healthy food and how this contributes to children's good health.

To help children to develop empathy, staff have introduced dolls that express different emotions. Staff encourage children to use these dolls and help them to label their emotions, so they can express these strong feelings in an acceptable manner. They have introduced duck eggs into the pre-school, so that children learn about life cycles and how to care for and nurture living things.

Children access an exciting and well-resourced outdoor area where they can play on a 'construction site', taking on the different roles of a builder. They thoroughly enjoy being active outdoors. A sports coach attends the pre-school weekly to encourage children to extend their physical skills.

They stretch, bend and practise throwing and catching the ball.Staff attend very regular training and feed back information gained to the staff team. Following recent training, staff now think about not stepping in too quickly when children are playing.

They reflect more on following children's lead and not asking children too many questions. This has resulted in a more relaxed atmosphere, where children begin conversations with staff more frequently.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff have a good knowledge of child protection matters. They know the signs to be concerned about in relation to a child's well-being. Staff know the appropriate agencies to contact should they have a concern about a child or the behaviour of a colleague.

They refresh their knowledge at weekly staff meetings and access regular training to keep up to date with any changes to legislation. Staff visually risk assess the pre-school prior to children arriving, to ensure that this multi-use centre is free from hazards and safe for children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: noffer all parents more information so they can support their children to be aware of the importance of making healthy choices in relation to food.

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