Cottontails Pre-School at St Philips

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children flourish and make superb progress at this warm and welcoming nursery.

Staff and leaders are extremely responsive towards the children's needs and help them to feel safe and secure in their environment. Children are incredibly motivated in their learning and show a remarkable interest in both their own choices of activities and those that are adult-led. There is a tremendously clear and precise curriculum intent that staff understand superbly.

For example, children excitedly discover magically appearing shapes at the painting table following an adult-led activity teaching them the properties and names of... familiar shapes. Children apply their newly acquired knowledge effortlessly and with confidence, exclaiming, 'Look, I have found another rectangle!'Children develop excellent communication and language skills while at the setting, including those who speak English as an additional language. For example, children who have a limited understanding of English when starting at the setting are superbly supported during targeted vocabulary groups.

Key vocabulary is skilfully introduced and modelled using a wide range of dual-language books, puppets, pictures and props.Staff are fantastic role models, which supports children to display excellent behaviour. They teach children how to be kind and respectful to others.

Positive behaviour is reinforced consistently and links closely to the four pre-school values, in particular that of 'kindness'. Children are rewarded with certificates for demonstrating these values, helping to embed extremely positive behaviour for all.

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

The quality of teaching is exceptional.

The impact of high-quality teaching on what children know, understand and remember is highly effective. Any emerging gaps in children's learning and development are swiftly addressed to help to ensure that all children make outstanding progress from their starting points. Interventions and adult-focused teaching groups help staff to skilfully sequence the curriculum to ensure that all children achieve exceptionally well.

Children understand the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. Staff promote healthy eating and work closely with families to encourage the provision of healthy and nutritious packed lunches. Children talk about their favourite fruit as they carefully use tongs to select pieces of banana or apple.

Children delight in taking part in daily yoga sessions to support their physical and mental well-being. They use positive affirmations such as 'I am strong' alongside the movements to encourage positive attitudes for physical and emotional health.Children's views are respected and listened to by all adults.

For example, they vote for which story to be read at story time. The manager and key staff hold regular meetings with the 'children's council', where children share what they like about the setting and what they would like to see more of from the adults and activities provided.A key strength of the setting is the support it has in place for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and children who speak English as an additional language.

Leaders go to great lengths in their efforts to remove barriers to learning. They are unrelenting in their quest to get children the precise support that they rightly deserve. Intervention plans are monitored with rigour, and targets are shared with all staff and reviewed consistently.

Staff praise the management team and feel extremely well supported in their roles. The manager offers exceptional support to staff through regular supervision meetings and observations of their practice. Staff have access to targeted online training and are encouraged to reflect on their practice through peer-on-peer observations.

Opportunities such as these ensure that staff continually build on, enhance and share their impressive skills in order to be the best that they can be when supporting children's learning.The highly effective programmes for literacy mean that children are learning the concepts and skills necessary to be confident readers and writers. Skilful delivery of the literacy programmes by knowledgeable staff means that children are exceeding in their understanding of sounds, rhythm, rhyme and letter sounds.

This is helping children to gain essential skills for the next stage in their learning when they transition to primary school.Partnerships with parents are tremendous. All parents talk about how invested and in tune leaders and staff are with them and their children.

Information sharing is superb, with regular updates being shared through online learning journals for each child. Parents feel fully involved as co-educators supporting their children's learning. They welcome the extensive opportunities to join in with activities in the nursery.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Children's safety is of the highest importance. Staff are clear about the procedures to follow if they have concerns about the welfare of a child.

Managers provide opportunities for staff to continually update their awareness of key aspects of safeguarding when attending monthly staff meetings. As such, staff have an extensive knowledge of safeguarding issues, including radicalisation and female genital mutilation. Staff teach children the importance of keeping themselves safe.

They talk to them about road safety and take them to talk to the school crossing patrol officer. They also talk to the children about 'safe adults', such as teachers and/or police officers. This helps children to understand potential dangers in their local environment and how to keep themselves safe.

Also at this postcode