Blossoms Preschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive happy. They eagerly greet their friends and staff before deciding what to play with. Children enjoy a wide range of activities which reflect their interests and what they need to learn next.

Babies smile and babble while making lots of noise with textured materials. They use their developing physical skills to move around the room and delight in peering through coloured plastic shapes. Toddlers show fascination in role play.

They recreate experiences from home as they 'cook' the meal in a pan, before carefully tipping it out into a bowl to serve. Children confidently ask staff to make the toast, which t...hey add to the bowl of food.Children behave well and know the daily routines.

For example, older children know that they need to wash their hands, then line up, ready to go into the dining area for snack and lunch. They sit down with their friends and wait for staff to bring the snacks. This helps children to learn good social skills and table manners.

Older children use their fine motor skills to tap small pins through wooden shapes into a cork board. They hold the small pins carefully and remember to keep their fingers away from the small hammer as they secure the shapes to the board.

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

The management and staff have recently made the decision to open two more rooms up to meet the needs of the current group of children.

This provides children with more space to play and move about. However, in the new rooms, staff have yet to bring in a full range of resources to enable children to independently explore all areas of learning.Children develop a love of books through planned story times and spontaneous moments when they cuddle up with staff to listen to their favourite story.

However, in the pre-school room, in particular, staff do not consistently deliver a well-balanced curriculum to keep children fully engaged, especially during large-group times. Some children lose concentration as they cannot see or hear the book being read, while others find it difficult to sit still for long periods.There are good partnerships with parents.

Staff work hard to get to know the family as a unit, which helps them to tailor children's care and learning to meet their individual needs. Parents comment on the good communication with their key person and other staff. They share that they can approach any member of staff or management for advice and guidance.

Children have daily opportunities to be outside in the fresh air and play with a wide range of resources. This helps to support their good health and physical well-being.Staff meet regularly with the manager for supervision meetings.

This helps to support staff's practice, professional development and identify any additional training needs. Staff feel valued and enjoy working in the pre-school.Children make good progress in relation to their starting points.

Staff observe and track children's progress, which they share online with parents. Staff note children's emerging interests and use these to provide activities and experiences which build on what children need to learn next. Regular assessment of children's progress helps to ensure that children are on track to be ready for the next stage in their learning.

There are good partnerships with a wide range of other professionals, such as social workers, health visitors, and speech and language professionals. These relationships help to close any gaps in learning for children who require additional support. The management uses the money from additional funding well to provide experiences for children that support their learning.

For example, resources which light up have been purchased for the sensory room. This provides somewhere for all children to relax, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.There is good support to help children who are moving on to to school.

Staff encourage school teachers to visit the children in the pre-school and complete detailed reports which they pass to the teachers. Staff provide children with photos of the school environment and school uniforms to help children to develop the confidence to move on to the next stage of their learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff have a secure understanding of their role to safeguard children. They know the signs and symptoms which may indicate that children are at risk of harm or abuse. Staff have a good knowledge of the dangers posed to children and young people through county lines or extremism and what to do should they have any concerns.

They are aware of the correct procedure to follow if they have concerns about the conduct of a colleague or the management. This helps to keep children safe.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: develop staff's understanding further of how to implement the curriculum effectively to keep children fully engaged, particularly during large-group activities review and improve the range of resources available to children in some rooms to meet their different needs and interests.