Heavitree Community Preschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and settled.

They are pleased to meet visitors and are keen to engage them in play. Children have strong bonds with the adults who care for them and they enjoy playing and learning alongside them; they feel safe and secure in the setting. Children are proud of their achievements and are quick to praise each other too.

For example, children exclaim, 'look I made this' when exploring the play dough. Adults then show real interest in the creations made.Children enjoy many varied activities and experiences at the setting.

They are developing positive attitudes to learning. Children animatedly re...count their summer holiday adventures and staff use these to support children's developing understanding of the world around them. Children laugh and smile at each other as they compare their days at the beach and describe in detail the rock pool and cold salty sea.

Children use their critical-thinking skills when discussing how they kept warm at the beach and how best to care for the limpets in the rock pools. 'They live there, you have to leave them in their house', are some of the responses from the children. Children enjoy a story that builds on their experiences and excites them further.

They giggle as they collectively act out parts of the story, whispering, 'we are living in a shell'.Children are kind and caring towards both adults and their friends. They seek to help each other when having snack and preparing for lunch.

For example, children say, 'Here is your lunch box. Would you like to sit with me?'. When children are talking to adults, the adults ensure the children have time to think and share their feelings and thought

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

Staff value home/setting links and have built positive relationships with parents.

Transitions from home to pre-school are well supported. Staff collect information from parents about their children. This information is used to support children when they start at the setting.

Children settle quickly in the setting and form good bonds with key persons. Parents praise the adults that care for their children and are thankful for how much progress their children are making.Staff support children to develop both gross and fine motor skills.

Children engage in lots of activities that increase their hand and finger control. They enjoy breaking spaghetti in role play, rolling play dough and cutting it with scissors, building with bricks and playing with animals in imaginative play. Children readily play both indoors and outdoors and being physically active is encouraged and modelled by staff as they ask, 'how many jumps can I do with the hoop? How many can you do?'.

Children's mathematical development is increasing. They use mathematical vocabulary in their play. For example, children make spaghetti soup and exclaim, 'this one is short, this one is long'.

They compare shapes formed with play dough while expressing, 'This is round, it's a ball, that one is a star'.Staff have a well-established daily routine and transition times are organised. They are smooth and effective in supporting children with learning and development.

Staff plan experiences and activities linked to children's interests. Staff regularly make changes to the environment to support children's growing developmental and learning needs. Staff adapt the activities in the light of the fact that some children have just returned after summer and some are new to the setting.

Staff explain how different the environment is when they are preparing children for the transition to start school.Staff engage well with the children. However, opportunities by some staff to extend learning are not always seized.

For example, during inspection, the extending of mathematical knowledge was not always grasped.The play leader managers are reflective and although they are new to their positions, they show a clear vision for the setting's priorities moving forward. They are making changes that are improving current provision, while also ensuring impact for the children's learning and development experiences long term.

Staff are happy and show high morale. Staff well-being and development are a priority for the new management team.Staff support children to be confident communicators.

The setting is language rich and staff are mindful of how to increase children's vocabulary. Children have lots of opportunities to talk with each other, interact with adults and be listened to.Staff have developed the range of mark-making materials available to the children.

However, staff miss opportunities to model purposeful writing to children to promote their early writing skills.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have secure knowledge of indicators that may show a child is at risk of abuse.

They know how to respond appropriately to these signs. Staff show a shared understanding of how to report concerns. Staff recognise their responsibilities to keep children safe.

Children are safe and secure in the setting. The setting has established routines to ensure the children can enter and exit the building safely.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to provide higher levels of teaching to further extend children's learning of mathematical knowledge support young children to learn to enjoy writing and to understand its purpose.

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