Brookside Community Preschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children who attend this pre-school make good progress from their individual starting points. They are warmly welcomed as they arrive by friendly, caring staff, who understand each child's individual needs and personalities. Children are happy and eager to take part in activities.

They choose the activities they want to play with and settle well. Children who are new to the pre-school receive lots of support and attention to help them settle at their own pace. Children build close relationships with staff.

They actively seek them out to join in their games or for a reassuring cuddle. Staff encourage children who are sl...ightly less confident to join in activities with their peers. Consequently, all children are beginning to form friendships and develop their social skills in readiness for the next stage of their learning and development.

Children's behaviour is good. They play happily with their friends and share and take turns with the resources. Children receive support to develop their communication and language skills.

Staff sit with them and engage them in conversations. Children enjoy listening to stories. The introduction of a book of the week provides repetition of language and helps children to recall stories and repeat familiar phrases.

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

There have been significant changes in recent months to the management and staffing structure. The new deputy manager, who is in charge for the majority of the time, is confident and experienced. He has identified areas for improvement and implemented new ideas to ensure children receive the best possible care and learning.

He has established continuity in the layout of the room and daily routines, so that children are always familiar with expectations and know where to access resources. As a result, children are settled and able to make choices in their play.Although the staff team are new, they work well together.

The manager, who is also the provider, and the deputy manager value staff. They involve them in the running of the pre-school and their ideas are sought and valued. Consequently, they are moving forward as a team.

The deputy manager is enthusiastic and has a clear vision for the future of the pre-school. He works closely with the manager, and together they strive to implement the necessary changes. However, these are still in their infancy and are not yet fully embedded into practice to ensure quality continues to improve.

Staff plan a range of activities based on children's individual interest and stage of development. They find out children's starting points and use these to move children forward in their learning. The deputy recognises that children need support in their communication, personal and social skills, and physical development.

Therefore, these are given the utmost priority.Children have opportunities for outside play every day. They develop their physical skills as they climb and slide or complete an obstacle course.

They concentrate and have lots of fun as they pour warm, bubbly water from jugs into different-sized vessels. Staff introduce new words, such as splash. However, sometimes staff do not extend children's learning or fully differentiate activities to ensure all children consistently make the best progress they are capable of.

Children thoroughly enjoy acting out familiar stories. They pretend to hunt for bears amid much excitement and enjoyment. They squelch through the mud and laugh as staff pretend to get their boots stuck in the mud.

They twirl their arms as they pretend to be in a snowstorm and creep quietly to the cave to find the bear. Children repeat the well-known phrases, which support their growing language and communication.Staff are working hard to build open, trusting relationships with parents.

They share information with them daily and encourage them to be involved in their child's learning. Children's welfare is at the heart of everything that managers and staff strive for.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Children's safety is given high priority. Risks are identified and minimised. All staff have an in-depth knowledge of the signs that may indicate that a child is being abused.

They attend safeguarding training to keep their knowledge up to date. Any absences are recorded and followed up to further ensure children's safety. The majority of staff have attended first-aid training and there is always a qualified first aider on site.

The first-aid box is well stocked, and all items are in date. Recruitment procedures are robust and the manager carries out checks to ensure all staff working with the children are suitable.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nembed and monitor the newly implemented changes to ensure practice continually improves support staff to understand how to fully extend and differentiate activities, so that all children make the very best progress they are capable of.