Middleton Cheney Preschool Limited

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and feel safe and secure at the welcoming pre-school.

They have established warm and caring relationships with staff. Children confidently approach staff for cuddles. Staff are calm and consistently offer praise and encouragement, which supports children in understanding their expectations.

Children receive effective support to build on their communication skills. Staff offer commentary to children during their play to broaden their vocabulary. Children enjoy short and enjoyable small-group sessions to provide them with more-focused learning support.

The use of props, such as sticks, wood sh...avings and small boxes, adds to children's excitement and engagement in the activity. Children say the words 'bigger' or 'smaller' to indicate the size of the box they have chosen and make sure their pretend animals are warm and cosy as they hibernate for the winter.Children have opportunities to play with a wide range of toys and resources.

Staff organise the environment well so that activities indoors and outside successfully engage and motivate children to learn by promoting their curiosity. For instance, children dress up as princesses in the home corner. They tell the staff they are off to Disneyland, on their pretend train.

Staff support children with their imaginary play, mathematics and literacy skills. Children read the timetables to tell staff the next time of the train, while others conclude they need to make the train longer for all of their friends to come aboard.

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

The pre-school staff are passionate and committed to providing good standards of care and learning.

They are led effectively by a knowledgeable and skilled management team. They proactively make positive changes that benefit children. For example, they use a variety of methods to evaluate the provision, such as implementing their action plans to help continuously improve their setting.

Staff exchange information with parents, who comment they are very happy with the service they receive. Staff work very closely with specialist agencies. They incorporate the expertise provided by these agencies to help fully support the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Children listen and respond positively to requests and instructions. They become resilient individuals who revel in challenging physical play. For example, they enjoy time spent outside where they climb the pirate ship and balance on stilts.

Children are curious learners who love to explore and investigate. They learn to take turns and share resources. All children visibly enjoy their time spent at the setting, and their affectionate and cheerful natures are clear to see.

The manager is passionate about children's learning and leads by example. She values her dedicated staff, who work well together. The manager appreciates how hard they work, and staff say they feel well supported.

Staff develop children's early reading and writing skills well. Children enjoy nursery rhymes, songs and stories. Some children begin to match sounds to letters and recognise familiar written words.

They have many opportunities to strengthen their hands and make marks in readiness for writing.Staff support children's literacy skills well. They encourage a positive interest in books.

For example, children delight as staff encourage them to choose their favourite stories. They listen intently as staff use different voices and props to help bring the stories to life. However, at times, staff overuse questioning when interacting with children.

This limits chances for children to develop their own ideas during play and to further enhance their imagination and thinking skills.There are good links with local schools, and parents comment that children move on in their education happily and with self-assurance. The manager and staff maximise opportunities for children to become familiar with the school environment and staff.

For example, children have outings to the school and teachers come to visit the pre-school.Staff make good use of the rich experiences available in the local area and children are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They learn about and embrace their differences and similarities to others.

For example, they take outings to the local church and library, and take part in visits to meet older people.The key-person system is firmly embedded and used effectively to ensure that all children feel safe and secure in their surroundings. Relationships between children and staff are good.

As a result, children are confident and display high levels of emotional well-being. They show curiosity and enjoyment in the activities on offer. Occasionally, the organisation of transitions between routines in the pre-school leads to some children's learning opportunities being missed.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a strong understanding of their responsibility to safeguard children. All staff attend regular training, and the manager ensures that safeguarding and child protection are discussed regularly.

Staff have a clear understanding of how to recognise the signs that a child may be at risk of harm. They have a good understanding of wider safeguarding matters, such as the 'Prevent' duty guidance. Staff know how to share such concerns to keep children safe.

This includes an understanding of how to escalate any concerns to outside agencies. Robust checks ensure that staff are suitable to work with children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nincrease opportunities to broaden children's thinking skills, promoting their ideas, views and opinions review transition periods and daily routine activities to make the most of these opportunities for learning.

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