Hersden Under 5’s Project

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The dedicated manager and her staff provide a welcoming and safe place where every child can thrive. They create a friendly and calm atmosphere where children and families feel included and part of a community. Children happily wave goodbye to their parents as they independently walk into the pre-school.

They are instantly welcomed by staff, who guide them into the room where many inviting activities are awaiting them.Staff are good at supporting children to build positive friendships as they gently remind them of the rules. Children are keen to find their friends and enjoy playing games together.

They smile and engage... as they build brick houses for toy animals, role play in the pretend kitchen, and discover marine animals in the water tray. Staff listen carefully to children about what they enjoy playing and what they would like to learn. They use this information when planning, in order to provide activities that will interest children and ignite their curiosity.

Staff are enthusiastic in their interactions with children, and draw them into play and learning.All staff have a good understanding of the curriculum and what skills children need to learn. Staff skilfully provide activities that build on what children already know and can do.

Small-group times are used very successfully to ensure that children of all abilities can access the learning that supports them to make good progress. Staff work hard to ensure that children leave the pre-school with the necessary skills to thrive in their future. Children show that they are confident, independent, able to listen and communicate well, and enjoy learning.

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

Staff place a high emphasis on supporting the prime areas of learning, while weaving in other areas of the curriculum. They support children to develop their communication and language skills particularly well. Staff speak clearly and repeat language for children.

Throughout the day, children jiggle around with joy as they dance, follow actions, and sing along to familiar songs. Younger children engage in singing rhymes. Older children exclaim as they learn new words, such as 'pigment' and 'bleached', when looking at natural printing.

Staff use the outdoor space well to support children to develop gross motor skills. They help children to use bikes and climbing equipment, and provide large drawing activities. Staff focus well on strengthening children's hand muscles, in preparation for learning to write later in their development.

Children enjoy squishing dough to music and using a pincer grip with their hands in the garden to collect flowers and leaves.The manager and staff plan adult-led activities that focus well on what children need to learn next. For example, children engage in printing with natural resources to support their expanding vocabulary and working as a group, ready for school.

However, sometimes, staff are less sure of why other activities have been provided for children and what they want children to learn from them. This means that staff are not consistently providing children with challenging learning to move on their development further.Staff offer regular small-group times to children each day.

Children are excited about attending them. They listen intently to staff, respond to questions, and sit nicely together in a group. Staff give lots of positive praise to encourage children to focus and persevere.

Children excitedly give staff a 'high five' as they learn new sounds in the alphabet.Children engage in daily circle times, where staff support them to remember the rules and how to be kind to each other. Staff discuss feelings with children and use resources, such as books and charts, to support their understanding.

Children treat each other with respect and kindness, and even find their own sand timers to negotiate sharing resources.Leaders are proactive in securing funding and support from other agencies to help all children to be able to access the same opportunities. They are quick to identify children who may need additional support, and put plans in place.

Leaders carefully consider how they spend funding and use it to buy resources to help individual children to access the curriculum and the pre-school.The manager focuses well on improving all staff's knowledge and well-being. She works closely within a collaboration, where she seeks support and advice and shares best practice.

The manager seeks regular training that targets the support needed for children and staff. For example, recent training has focused on different ways to approach teaching maths, and supporting mental health. This supports an evaluative culture, where staff are constantly striving to alter and improve practice to better support the children.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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 identify and plan more precisely what children need to know and learn next, to support staff to consistently provide appropriate challenges to maximise children's learning.

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