Candover Valley Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Staff are warm and caring.

They have very high expectations for all children attending. Staff have extremely clear intentions for their planning, which focuses highly on language and communication, literacy and mathematics and school readiness. Staff teaching is consistently of an exemplary standard.

Staff interact purposefully with children and are extremely confident to build on what children already know and what they can do. Children demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. They engage very well and are extremely motivated to learn.

Children show that they are happy to attend. Parents comme...nt that their children are very keen to tell them about the day at pre-school and what they have been doing. Children behave impeccably at all times.

Staff place a high importance on helping all children acquire very good listening and attention skills. They use tried and tested strategies to thoroughly promote the ways that children form sounds by accurately using the correct movements of their mouth and tongue. Children are attentive and resilient.

They show self-control as they follow a staff member's direction and guidance to achieve the sounds by altering the shapes of their mouths. Staff work in partnership with parents to support children's early understanding of sounds and letters, for example, by practising sounds of the week when at home. Children are extremely keen to demonstrate their knowledge during small group times and very confidently identify sounds and the letters they represent.

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

The manager is extremely passionate about her role. She leads her staff team with exceptional support. She is very mindful about helping to ensure that staff manage their workload effectively.

She is highly supportive of how staff continue to develop their skills and learning. This includes providing training for staff to help them embed incentives, such as forest school activities, that enhance further the ways children develop independence and enjoyment for learning outdoors.Staff implement the early years foundation stage securely.

They have a meticulous knowledge and understanding of all children's individual needs. Staff are extremely proactive in how they evaluate the quality of children's learning and make robust assessments of children's progress. This is regularly shared with parents, who receive the essential information they need to help them enhance and extend learning at home.

For example, staff and parents work collaboratively together to support children's language skills and literacy awareness, including a shared topic for 'book of the week'.Children show an exceptionally keen interest in books. Staff help them to act out favourites, such as 'We're going on a bear hunt', while on the school field.

Children demonstrate a confident understanding of popular verses. They act out the different scenarios, such as pretending to put their wellies on to go through the water. They use big steps as they trudge through the mud and interpret how to stumble and trip through the forest.

They walk on tip-toes, showing a little apprehension and telling each other the 'cave may be dark'.Highly effective strategies help support children who need additional support for speech and language or physical development. Proactive staff act promptly to help ensure interventions are set in place.

The impact of is that all children have improved outcomes and make consistent and rapid progress in relation to their starting points.Staff are efficient in offering children rich, interesting experiences to help them understand communities and people. For example, children are offered forest school type sessions on local woodland areas, where they develop independence and social skills while trying out new experiences in their learning.

Children take part in drama classes where they learn more about Chinese mythology, including the interpretation of the emperor and the great race between the animals.Staff place a very high importance on outdoor learning. Children thoroughly enjoy their time outdoors, whether cooking in the mud kitchen or taking part in activities that promote their gross motor skills.

These include playing hopscotch with staff or catching and throwing games with bean bags. Enthusiastic staff are exceptionally confident in extending learning at all times. For example, they help children to problem-solve as they add the total number of beanbags and work out who has more and who has less.

Children are highly respectful of each other. They use polite language at all times and have exceptional table manners during snacktime and lunchtime. Children are very aware of the importance of listening to each other speak.

This is demonstrated clearly during group sessions as children talk about what they have enjoyed doing today and how they are feeling. Children show that they feel extremely safe and emotionally secure at pre-school. They are highly motivated to take part in their activities and have very warm bonds with the staff who care for them.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff demonstrate a secure understanding of all aspects of safeguarding matters and legislation. This includes their competency to respond to questions and scenarios to assess their knowledge of the 'Prevent' duty and what to do if they have a concern about a senior staff member.

Staff have a clear knowledge of the signs and symptoms that may indicate possible abuse or neglect and the procedures to follow if they have a concern about a child in their care. Staff implement and use the provider's policies, procedures and risk assessments to effectively promote children's health, safety and well-being. The provider uses robust systems for training and supervision of staff to help ensure they remain suitable for their roles.

Also at this postcode