Hagley Primary School Kindergarten

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children feel safe.

They happily leave their parents and quickly settle into activities that capture their interest. Children thoroughly delight in singing along to the piano, singing songs about using kind hands, telling the truth and playing with their friends. Children work extremely well in groups and easily negotiate while they play.

For example, children count how many of them are already playing in the den and use a five-minute sand timer to understand when it is their turn. Children are often deeply engaged in their learning and play. For example, children solve problems while they build and walk along the bric...k trail they have made.

They confidently use a range of mathematical language to describe what they have made. Children have plenty of opportunities to be creative when they cut, join and assemble things. For example, children use boxes and adhesive tape to make their models, and others are busy colouring and cutting out pictures to sequence a story.

On the occasions when teaching is exceptional, activities are extremely well sequenced to help to build on what children know. Consequently, children show excellent levels of motivation and are inspired to learn. For example, children delight in clapping the syllables of words while they listen to a story about a giant.

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

The manager and staff work well together and provide a good coherently planned educational programme across all areas of learning. Staff consult with parents about their children's experiences at home and interests, and incorporate these in their daily planning to inspire children to learn. Staff skilfully combine children's interests along with the changing seasons and interesting topics to help provide a rich learning environment to capture children's curiosity.

Overall, teaching is good and, on occasions, some staff demonstrate excellent teaching skills. These staff are highly skilled and make the very most of all their interactions with children, and are finely tuned into each child's developmental needs. They skilfully facilitate children to express and communicate what they understand, feel and imagine.

The manager regularly works alongside staff and has a good overview of the kindergarten and staff practice. Staff benefit from regular staff supervision and training to keep their knowledge up to date and to help to build on their skills. However, setting leaders do not often enough monitor the quality of teaching to help new staff to identify precisely how they can raise the quality of their teaching even further.

Staff prioritise closing gaps in children's learning. They swiftly identify any children who need additional support, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff provide good targeted interventions and small-group work, particularly to support the communication and language of children with SEND.

Children with SEND benefit from good one-to-one support to help them to get involved and make the most of what is on offer. However, often, the staff who undertake this role have only recently been employed or are support staff rather than the experienced staff who demonstrate high-quality interactions. Therefore, children with SEND do not consistently benefit from the highest level of support possible to help close gaps rapidly.

Staff use a good range of strategies to involve parents in their children's learning and support them well with ideas on how to continue this learning at home. Parents report high levels of satisfaction and they are impressed by the range and quality of experiences on offer. Parents state that staff know their children well and provide personalised learning that meets their needs and interests.

Promoting children's personal, social and emotional development and preparing children for school is a clear priority. Staff help children to follow their curiosity and support them to master new skills while they play and grow in confidence and independence. They use a motivating range of strategies to help children to regulate their emotions and resolve conflicts.

Professional relationships with staff at the school are strong and help children to become familiar with the school, staff and routines. This supports children's emotional well-being for when they eventually start school.Children thoroughly enjoy physical activity and learn to use tools, such as scissors to snip and tongs to pick up items.

Staff support children extremely well because they think about the effects of exercise on their bodies. For example, children take great pleasure in singing a song about blood rushing around their bodies after their morning exercise.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There are effective recruitment procedures in place to ensure staff are suitable to care for children. Staff have a good understanding about the possible signs of abuse and neglect and the procedure to follow if they have a concern. The manager works closely with the school staff to share any information about children and their families to keep children safe and promote their welfare.

Staff are vigilant about children's safety and carry out daily checks to ensure the premises and outdoor area are safe. They teach children about road safety and the importance of wearing their safety helmets when they ride their bicycles, and about limiting screen time at bedtime.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen the system for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities so that these children are more often supported by staff who demonstrate excellent quality interactions to help them to make the very best possible progress nuse incisive staff development opportunities when supporting new staff to help to maintain the good practice achieved and to raise the quality of teaching to the highest level.

Also at this postcode