Heckington Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The pre-school is in the heart of the village.

Children have unique opportunities to develop a strong sense of belonging within the local community. With staff, the children buy snack foods from the nearby shops and borrow books from the library. Children develop good social skills as they make friends with a diverse range of local people.

Children come to the pre-school with different skills and experiences. They benefit from an ambitious curriculum that changes in line with their current interests. Children become fully engaged in their play with support from the staff, who have high expectations for every child.
...>
This includes those receiving additional funding, children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children are independent and develop high levels of confidence and self-esteem. Furthermore, children behave well and follow rules and boundaries.

They enjoy their time at the pre-school and demonstrate they feel happy, independent and safe. Children enjoy using the attractive range of resources. These have been carefully considered by staff to provide children with open opportunities to learn.

For example, when children use shaving foam to make marks, they independently press the button on the canister to get the foam out and describe the smell.

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

The manager closely tracks and monitors the progress that children make. This helps to ensure children make progress across the whole curriculum.

Staff identify potential gaps in children's learning and provide additional support if required. There is a targeted approach towards the future learning of children. This includes those children with SEND, and those who receive additional funding.

Strong professional partnerships and good information sharing with other agencies support these children to reach their full potential.Staff get to know children's individual personalities well. Children are confident learners and have positive levels of well-being.

They are keen to engage staff in their play. However, at times, staff do not recognise opportunities that arise to extend children's thinking and problem-solving skills. For example, staff complete tasks themselves rather than challenging children to find their own way.

Children have many opportunities to play outdoors and to be physically active. They learn to ride bicycles and kick and catch balls. They have a growing awareness of their own abilities.

Children take part in sensory activities in the garden. For example, they become excited as they make mud pies and use water and brushes to paint the shed, reaching as high as they can.Children's language development is supported well by staff.

Older children engage well and eagerly contribute when staff ask them questions about a story they are reading. Staff encourage children to sing and copy the actions to familiar rhymes. Staff help to promote children's vocabulary well and teach children new words.

For example, they introduce 'implement' and 'waterfall' as children explore the shaving foam and tools. Staff support children who speak English as an additional language effectively.Staff use highly effective methods to manage children's behaviour.

They respond to children calmly and help them learn to resolve conflict themselves. They talk to the children about how to manage turn taking and sharing. Staff make good use of a sand timer which helps children to work out how long it is until their turn.

Staff draw upon resources in the local community well. This provides children with interesting learning opportunities, which they might not otherwise experience. For example, they meet and talk to care home residents and attend events at the local school.

This helps children to learn about the wider world.Staff work well with parents to help children settle quickly. Parents state that staff are friendly and that they feel confident leaving their children.

They appreciate the information they receive about what their children do daily. However, some parents are not sure what their child's next steps in learning are, so that they can support them to achieve at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The manager and staff have developed a strong culture of vigilance to safeguard children's welfare. All staff are aware of how to identify and report any concerns they may have regarding the children. The manager has strong partnerships with a wide range of professionals to ensure children consistently receive the support they need.

Staff are deployed well within the pre-school and constantly risk assess the environment to ensure children are safe and secure. Children learn how to keep themselves safe, such as correctly holding scissors when they walk and how to use knives properly when cutting food up.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: provide children with further challenges, particularly in solving problems themselves, to extend their learning even more strengthen communication and partnerships with parents further, to help engage them in their children's learning and provide consistency between the setting and home.

Also at this postcode