Berry Hill Childcare Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children thrive at this well-established, exciting pre-school. They feel safe and secure.

Children confidently leave their parents and immediately engage in purposeful play. The inspirational environment focusses on the children. Inviting opportunities, both indoors and outdoors, engage children's interest.

Children show deep involvement in their play. For example, children make potions in the outdoor area. They expertly pour and measure their 'soup'.

Children talk about the shapes of the bowls being circles and squares. They negotiate together and discuss the choices they make. Children explain that th...e square bowl has to have the biggest spoon as it is the largest bowl.

Children's learning occurs within every activity. For example, at story time, staff question children about the name of the person who writes a book. They correctly answer, 'author'.

Children name the person who draws in the books as an illustrator. They benefit from a book-lending library to encourage their reading at home.Children's behaviours and attitudes to learning are exceptional.

They show high levels of respect for each other and the resources they play with. Children enjoy listening to stories. All children, including those with special educational needs/and or disabilities (SEND), make excellent progress from their starting points.

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

Leadership is outstanding. The manager has great vision for the pre-school. She commits to ensuring families and staff receive exceptional care and support.

Staff report high levels of well-being. Group hugs and 'positive praise shout-outs' are a daily occurrence.The curriculum is ambitious and implemented well.

A dedicated staff team work together to deliver the programme of activities. Experiences on offer build on what children know and can do. Staff go above and beyond to source the best experiences for the children.

Examples of this include how staff use the 'WellComm' communication programme. They assess children's speaking and language when they start at pre-school. The manager and staff develop the provision to meet the individual needs of children.

Early years pupil premium funding supports children to achieve their full potential. For example, resources purchased extend the 'emotions' basket. Further speech and language activities purchased support children with communication and language development.

The manager and staff plan and provide a rich set of experiences for the children. For example, on the day of inspection, the children had a surprise visit of a snake from the local reptile centre. The staff followed the children's interests when they said that they wanted to move like a snake.

They slid along the floor. Children then wanted to make their own snakes. Staff facilitated this.

They provided an open-ended range of resources for children to choose. Staff skilfully supported children with English as an additional language to learn the name of the snake in their own language. They then practised saying it together.

Partnership working with other agencies is exceptional. The manager has developed strong links with many professionals. She works closely with the link health visitor to address any concerns early.

The manager has strong links with local charities to support children's well-being. This helps to ensure that children's needs are continually met. Links with local schools help to ensure smooth transitions when children move on to the next stage in their learning.

Partnership with parents is outstanding. The manager and staff support the families exceptionally well. They work tirelessly to get additional support for children and families.

Parents report that the manager and staff are like 'extended family' and are 'awesome'.The manager and staff develop children's uniqueness and characters. They know the children incredibly well and can respond appropriately to their needs.

A well-established, key-person system helps to ensure children's safety and well-being. Hygiene practices are exceptional. Staff remind children to wash their hands after using the toilet and before snack time.

Additionally, they remind children to wash their hands after they stroke the snake that came to visit the pre-school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff have an extensive knowledge of safeguarding requirements.

All staff attend training to ensure that their practice remains current and they know the procedures to follow to help keep children safe. Safeguarding is discussed at fortnightly meetings and staff take part in quizzes to test their knowledge. The manager and staff understand the procedures to follow if they have concerns about an adult's practice.

Safeguarding is embedded into daily practice. Staff hold discussions about 'stranger danger' with children. Staff receive paediatric first-aid training to help ensure that they take the appropriate action following accidents.

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