Blackdown Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy at the pre-school. They enjoy exploring their environment and eagerly use the resources that staff have put out for them to engage in purposeful play. For instance, they spend time pushing cars down a ramp.

Staff make this activity more exciting by encouraging other children to join in so that they can race their cars together. Staff support them to follow age-appropriate instructions so that children let their cars go at the same time, observing which one is the fastest. This helps children to develop their concentration skills.

Staff have high expectations for all children to make good progress. Th...ey use children's next steps to plan activities that precisely target each child's individual learning goals. For example, they support children to develop their pencil control by encouraging them to use tweezers to pick up pom-poms.

This helps children to develop their hand strength to support later writing skills.Staff support children to show good behaviour. For instance, staff remind them of the rules during the day, such as using their 'listening ears' when staff speak to them.

Staff also give children appropriate praise when they follow the nursery rules, which helps children to learn how they are expected to behave.

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

Leaders have made significant improvements since the last inspection. They have formed a supportive team, which has helped to raise the quality of their provision.

Those with governance ensure that they are aware of the daily running of the pre-school, which helps them to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Staff also receive effective coaching, mentoring and support from leaders. Staff report that they enjoy working at the pre-school.

Leaders listen and respond appropriately to anything that staff share with them, which strengthens the culture of mutual respect and teamworking.Overall, leaders have good knowledge of the requirements of registration. However, they have not notified Ofsted of important information in relation to the committee.

This has no impact on children, and leaders are now aware of their responsibility to make the relevant notifications to Ofsted. Therefore, Ofsted will not be taking any further action.Leaders have embedded a curriculum that supports children to make progress in their development.

Leaders support staff to understand the curriculum by involving them in planning and observing their practice. They give staff effective feedback on their teaching and give them ideas for how they can develop this further. This enables staff to build on and improve children's experiences at pre-school.

Staff know their key children well, which enables them to ensure that the curriculum challenges them appropriately. Staff track children's development effectively, which they share with parents. This helps them to identify whether children need additional support in their learning.

Staff plan engaging activities to support children's physical development. This includes playing parachute games. Children listen intently as staff explain the instructions for each game.

Children enjoy shaking the parachute up and down, which helps them to develop their large muscle skills.Leaders support children to keep themselves safe. For instance, they ensure that staff supervise children when they use online devices.

They also share information about online safety with parents so they are aware of how to promote this at home. However, leaders have not extended this to teach children how to keep themselves safe when they use online devices. This does not fully enable children to develop an understanding of how to manage online risks.

Staff support children to develop their independence skills. For instance, they encourage children to put on their own coats and wellington boots before they go outside to play. Additionally, all children, including the youngest, show that they are familiar with the routines, such as putting their own water bottles away when they have finished drinking.

This helps children to learn to do things for themselves.Staff are friendly and kind. They engage well with children, such as talking to them about what they ate for breakfast.

Children enjoy joining in with conversations, which helps to promote their language skills. However, at times, staff do not remind children to finish their mouthful of food before speaking. This does not fully enable children to learn good eating habits.

Parent partnerships are strong. Parents are very happy with the pre-school. They have noticed lots of improvements since the last inspection.

For example, communication is good and parents feel better informed about their child's time there. Parents say that leaders are approachable and take on board any feedback that they give. This helps parents to be more involved in their child's life at pre-school.

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: consider ways to help children to develop an understanding of how to keep themselves safe when they use online devices support staff to encourage children to develop healthier eating habits.