Metheringham Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and feel safe in this welcoming, homely setting.

Staff provide a nurturing environment which values the uniqueness of each child. Children confidently follow the established routine. They sit together during circle time and recall the days of the week.

Children are encouraged to look outside to see what the weather is like and talk about the seasons. They consistently use their manners and are developing their independence. For example, they are very able to self-register for snack time, wash their hands and choose what to eat.

Children are given timely reminders before tidy-up time, which h...elps to prepare them for transitions throughout the day. Children feel secure within these boundaries. Children progress well due to an ambitious curriculum that changes in line with their current interests.

Staff have high expectations for children and provide a wide range of stimulating activities and resources. Children come to the pre-school with different skills and experiences, and activities are planned to broaden those experiences. Children enjoy investigating and testing out what they know.

For instance, they are fascinated to learn about balance and stability, and explore how torches work differently inside and out.

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

Staff know their key children very well. They take time to get to know children and their parents and build strong and trusting relationships.

Parents particularly like the family environment promoted by staff, which they say helps children to feel safe and secure. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive very good support. Staff build effective partnerships with parents and professionals involved with children.

This ensures high levels of continuity for children's care and learning. Parents comment that the support staff offer to their children goes 'above and beyond'.Staff use assessment effectively to provide children with a well-planned curriculum which reflects their interests and next steps in learning.

Managers and staff check children's progress and quickly identify any gaps in learning. The manager monitors the implementation of the curriculum by staff and supports their development through coaching and training.Children benefit from an unhurried and calm time spent at pre-school with their friends.

They initiate their own play and enjoy their learning. All staff engage well with children and join in with their play and ideas. They listen to what children say and ask questions to develop children's confidence to talk.

Staff offer children many opportunities for sustained interactions. However, they do not always use opportunities to consistently help children's learning develop to a greater depth.Children are encouraged to take responsibility for themselves and the learning environment.

They pour their own drinks, wash their own dishes and put away their toys after use. Children have many opportunities to play outdoors and to be physically active. They balance on crates and climb benches in the garden.

This gives them a growing awareness of their own abilities. Children take part in sensory activities in the garden. For example, they become excited as they splash in muddy puddles and use water and brushes to paint the wall.

Children's language development is supported well by staff. Children are engaged and eager to contribute when staff ask them questions about a story they are reading. Children are encouraged to sing and are excited to copy the actions to familiar rhymes.

Staff encourage children's vocabulary well. They hold conversations with children and introduce new words. For example, they introduce 'weaving' and 'enormous' through activities and stories.

At times, group activities are prolonged and young children lose focus and interest.Staff draw upon resources in the local community well. This provides children with interesting learning opportunities, beyond those they might otherwise experience.

For example, they meet and talk to local residents at a village coffee morning and attend events at the local school. This helps children to learn about the wider world.

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 setting and constantly risk assess the environment to ensure children are safe and secure. Children learn how to keep themselves safe, such as by climbing carefully and not shining bright torches in their eyes or those of their friends.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: make the most of all opportunities that arise as children play to support their learning to the highest levels review small-group times to ensure all children are consistently engaged and suitably challenged.