Charterhouse Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children settle extremely well on arrival, and thrive in the nurturing and stimulating environment the pre-school provides.

It is both very well organised and resourced. Staff pay huge attention to detail to ensure that individual children's needs are met. They form very strong bonds with the children and their families, and place high priority on their emotional well-being.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported extremely well. All children are challenged to meet their next steps in learning. Staff skilfully use questions to encourage curiosity and extend children's critical t...hinking.

Young children eagerly practise their sensory and fine motor skills. For instance, they enjoy squeezing and manipulating play dough, and sprinkling glitter into paint to make snowflakes. Older children were observed finding ice outside; they discussed how it was formed and the changes that happened to make it disappear.

Children behave exceptionally well. They are kind and caring to their friends and show respect. Staff model expected behaviour and consistently praise children for their contributions and achievements.

Staff successfully teach children to recognise and manage their emotions. Children display high levels of self-esteem and are proud of 'reaching the rainbow' on the behaviour chart. Children rapidly increase their excellent independence skills across all areas of learning.

Older children self-register on arrival, hang up their coats and pour their own drinks. Younger children make choices in their play and develop their physical skills. All children are happy in the setting.

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

The quality of teaching is exceptional. Staff skilfully use observations and ongoing assessments to tailor learning experiences for children. They provide a challenging and exciting curriculum, which promotes all areas of learning.

Staff know children extremely well and build on what they know and can do. Children are exceedingly motivated and display high levels of perseverance. For example, older children work collaboratively to find out why sand becomes stuck in the wheel.

They contribute their ideas and test their theories until they solve the problem.The inspirational and dedicated managers maintain the excellent standard of care and education. They lead a team of highly skilled and passionate staff who work extremely well together to ensure they are confident in their role.

Staff evaluate their practice and are highly reflective in making positive changes to benefit the children. For example, targeted physical exercise has become a morning focus, including learning walks, pilates and music and movement sessions. These help children to feel happy, and provide them with an increased focus for learning.

Staff have observed the positive impact.Staff place a strong emphasis on language and literacy skills for all children. Younger children enjoy stories and mark making in paint and sand.

Older children enjoy opportunities to write and increase their phonic knowledge in focused activities. They learn initial sounds, identify rhyming words and blend and segment letters. Staff use Makaton (sign language) and engage children in meaningful conversations to increase their vocabulary and sentence building.

Managers have observed that increased adult input has significantly improved the quality of children's speech and language. Staff provide children with the skills to become confident communicators.Managers and staff forge excellent partnerships with parents and other professionals.

They work extremely well with parents to ensure children's emotional well-being is secure. Systematic checking enables staff to identify any concerns and gaps in children's learning quickly. Adults seek early support from other professionals to ensure every child makes the best possible progress.

Parents are kept well informed with their children's progress, and regularly contribute to their learning. The childminders and others from settings that children attend share information to ensure there is continuity in children's learning. Parents speak very highly of the pre-school staff and of the positive impact they have on their children's learning and behaviour.

Staff enthusiastically use opportunities to increase children's understanding of mathematical development by engaging in their play and introducing new concepts. For example, during role play, older children learn to share pizzas in halves and quarters. They confidently count and subtract, order numbers and predict what comes next.

Younger children learn 'full' and 'empty' as they fill buckets with sand, and talk about different sizes as they sort animals. Children use magnifying glasses to identify features on insects, and count their legs, spots and wings. Number cards display symbols in different languages to support children who speak English as an additional language.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Children's safety and well-being is a high priority. Staff ensure the environment is safe and secure, and hazards are minimised.

Staff supervise children effectively. They move around the setting to ensure ratios are maintained, inside and outdoors. All staff have completed safeguarding training and know about the 'Prevent' duty.

They have a good knowledge of the signs that may indicate that children are at risk or in need. Staff know the procedures to follow if they have any concerns regarding a child's welfare. Robust recruitment procedures are in place to ensure all staff are suitable for their roles.

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