Milton Pre School CIC

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and settled in this friendly and welcoming pre-school. They develop strong bonds with staff and seek them out for reassurance and cuddles. Children learn through an effective balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities.

As a result, children are making good progress from their starting points. Children delight in playing outside with their friends. They actively explore their surroundings and practise their physical skills as they use the large play equipment.

Children's behaviour is excellent. They listen attentively to the staff and respond well to instructions. Children thoroughly enjoy th...e wide range of good-quality resources provided.

They freely choose what they would like to play with and show curiosity, concentration and enjoyment in their play. Children's imagination is fostered well. They have lots of fun as they collect different objects in their shopping baskets and pretend to go camping.

Children develop an excellent understanding of the world around them. They take part in exciting outings within the local community. For example, they enjoy picnics in the park and visit the post office to buy stamps to post their paintings home.

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

The enthusiastic staff act as excellent role models and provide children with a relaxed and homely atmosphere. They speak respectfully to the children and listen carefully to what they say. Staff display children's artwork around the room and celebrate their achievements.

This helps children to feel respected and valued. Staff consistently praise children for their positive behaviour. They tell them that they are fantastic and give 'high fives'.

Children are motivated and become deeply engaged in their play. For example, they laugh and squeal with excitement as they run around outside, pouring water from watering cans and splashing in the puddles. However, newer and less experienced staff are not consistently guided to recognise opportunities as they arise that will enhance children's play and learning even further.

Children are encouraged to develop a love of books. Staff skilfully capture children's attention through their animated storytelling and singing. Children thoroughly enjoy answering questions about the stories and joining in with familiar songs and actions.

As a result, they develop good communication and language skills.Children follow the daily routines of the pre-school and demonstrate independence in their self-care. The manager and staff have developed excellent links with the local schools and teachers to help maintain continuity in children's learning.

They use information about the school routines and programmes of learning to help children prepare for school.An effective key-person system is in place to help children form positive attachments with staff. Staff show respect for each other and work well together to meet the individual needs of the children.

The manager and staff regularly assess children's progress and use the information to plan for their next steps in learning. Although the manager monitors staff performance effectively through regular observations and staff meetings, she is less successful at swiftly identifying specific training needs that will help raise the quality of practice even more.Children are supported well to develop their literacy skills.

They actively take part in letters and sounds activities, and excitedly discuss new and interesting words. However, staff do not consistently take full advantage of opportunities to develop children's problem-solving skills and critical thinking.The manager and staff develop good partnerships with parents.

They share information about each child's progress and the care they receive throughout the session. Parents say that the staff make the pre-school feel like one big happy family and they are pleased with the progress their children are making.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The manager and staff have an excellent understanding of the signs that may indicate a child is at risk of neglect or abuse. They have an in-depth knowledge of safeguarding protocols and actions to take if there are any concerns about a child's welfare. The manager and staff are booked onto additional training to extend further their knowledge of wider safeguarding concerns.

The environment is safe and secure. The manager and staff conduct thorough risk assessments of all areas, including any outings that children take part in, to ensure children's safety at all times.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: refine performance management systems, to swiftly identify specific training needs develop and fully embed support for new and less experienced staff, to enhance the good quality of their practice make the most of opportunities to build on children's problem-solving skills and develop critical thinking.

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