Melrose Pre-school Playgroup

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children learn to play in a very nurturing and caring environment. They feel safe and secure. Staff help them form close bonds and attachments.

Children feel reassured and well cared for. They seek out their key person for cuddles when they are tired or unsure. Staff engage and interact with children positively to help develop their confidence to learn, explore and experiment in their play.

Children have a strong attitude towards their learning. They show keen interest and fascination in new experiences. They experiment, using learned knowledge to test, challenge and extend their thinking.

Staff use very effec...tive questions and positive engagement to help children think critically. For example, children experiment with movement, using bricks to build paths to walk on. Staff ask if children can use different movements to get across the bricks.

Children, with confident coordination, jump and hop along the pathway. Other children use trial and error to find their way across, wobbling, falling and regaining their balance. They show high levels of determination to complete the challenge.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported effectively. Staff work tirelessly with parents and other professionals to close the gaps in children's development. They use a cohesive approach to develop plans to support children's next steps.

Children's smallest achievements are highlighted, celebrated and shared with all who are involved in their ongoing care and learning.

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

Children learn to care for themselves through daily routines and support from staff. For example, they learn to pour their own drinks, asking for more when they are thirsty.

They confidently find their own coats, put them on for themselves, and ask for help to do them up. Children listen to staff's instructions and explanations regarding hygiene practices. They clearly explain that they have to wash their hands to make them clean to eat their lunch.

Staff are highly supported by an active and effective management team. Experienced committee members share their knowledge of safeguarding with staff to promote their understanding of procedures. Staff feel valued and supported.

Their ongoing well-being is supported by the family atmosphere in the setting. Staff are encouraged to follow their interests through training.Children confidently use their skills to communicate their needs.

Some children express themselves through gestures, expressions and spoken words, using complex descriptive language to explain themselves. They show extreme levels of humour in their language, taking pride in making staff laugh. Children with delayed speech and language have high levels of support to help them communicate through eye contact, the use of visual aids and clear spoken words.

Staff know the children extremely well and use this knowledge to clearly understand their needs.Staff use effective skills to change their levels of questions and engagement with children to support their individual learning needs. For example, while children explore with rice, staff extend questions to older children to help them solve problems of transporting rice and sorting colours.

They introduce new words, such as 'crunchy,' to their play. Children repeat these words to show their meaning. Younger children's attention is supported well.

Children become absorbed in play, experimenting with the texture of rice. Staff introduce new resources to extend their concentration. However, staff do not always recognise and use children's interests spontaneously to fully support their immediate learning, particularly their communication skills.

Children develop close friendships, learning how to cooperate in their play. They understand right from wrong and communicate their frustration to staff when friends have upset them. Staff are positive role models, helping children to learn good manners.

For example, children automatically say please and thank you at snack time. Staff praise them for their positive words.Parents feel that their children are making positive progress and are well prepared for school.

They feel supported as parents. They gain advice and information from all staff, who signpost them to relevant agencies for additional support. Parents receive regular information about their children's progress.

However, staff do not always fully help parents understand how to support children's next steps in their learning through play at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The management, committee and staff are very confident in their knowledge of the procedures to follow if they have a concern about a child in their care.

They fully promote children's ongoing welfare needs. For example, they liaise closely with parents, agencies and community groups to provide a consistent approach to children's care. Children play in a safe and secure environment.

Staff involve children in risk assessments to help them identify hazards and learn how to promote their own and their friends' safety. For example, children remind their friends to stand clear of the roundabout as they work with others to propel it with their feet.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nuse children's interests more effectively and spontaneously to fully support their communication skills nextend the support for parents to help provide a more consistent approach to children's learning and play.