Mucktubs Preschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children and parents are greeted warmly by the friendly and professional staff. Children enter the large hall enthusiastically.

They are keen to find their photo to self-register. Children quickly run to greet their friends and engage in their choice of play. They talk confidently about their family.

Staff encourage children to count their family members, to help develop their mathematical skills. Children gain a good understanding of their local community. They point to pictures of local buildings as they create structures with bricks.

Staff model words and children repeat them. This helps to build children's... vocabulary.Children enjoy access to the outside area, where they have fun and practise their physical skills.

For example, they use the climbing frame confidently. Staff make eye contact and speak to children face to face. They remind children to be careful of others.

This promotes children's good behaviour, and speaking and listening skills. Children are safe and secure in the setting. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the pre-school remained open.

The manager and staff have communicated well with parents. They placed a focus on providing support for the whole family through an active and positive approach. For example, staff gave parents advice on managing their children's behaviour.

Parents praise the team highly and thank them for all they do.

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

Staff support children well to develop a love of books. They provide an inviting reading area, where children handle books with care.

Staff are skilled at capturing children's interest in stories. Older children listen intently as staff read stories in an expressive way. Children repeat familiar sentence endings and learn to describe how they feel.

This enables children to manage their emotions and promotes their early literacy skills.Children thoroughly enjoy their imaginative play. They explore real vegetables in their play, and name and count them confidently.

Children sing songs outside and show their delight in what they are doing. They draw circles and spirals on a large scale alongside staff. This helps prepare children for some of their next stages of learning.

Staff do not fully extend and focus children's learning during all activities, to help ensure that they achieve to their highest potential. For example, during creative and construction activities, staff miss chances to promote children's understanding of shapes and colour.On occasions, staff's planning for children's learning is not always sharply focused.

This results in some missed opportunities to plan challenging activities that are linked to children's individual next steps in learning, to maximise their progress.Staff develop warm and caring relationships with children. They meet their individual needs well.

Staff teach children about the importance of being healthy and safe. They encourage children to take an active part in their own self-care and become independent. For example, children show good physical development and control as they eat using cutlery.

Partnerships with parents are good. Staff gather information about children's abilities when they first start. They regularly review children's progress with parents using a variety of methods.

Children are supported well to manage their own feelings. Staff give clear instructions and children know what is expected from them. Staff praise children for their efforts, achievements and positive behaviour.

As a result, children's behaviour is good.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported effectively. Staff work closely with other agencies.

They consider how additional funding is spent and check that it is making the intended difference for those children and their families. For example, the manager uses early years pupil premium funding to meet children's individual needs.Staff say they feel valued and are happy in their role.

They are well organised and committed to improving their knowledge with training and qualifications. The manager reflects on the quality of the provision regularly and provides staff with regular supervision meetings. This has a positive impact on staff's well-being and they are keen to contribute to the aims of the pre-school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff know and describe the signs and symptoms that might cause them to be concerned about a child's welfare. They understand the pre-school's safeguarding policies and procedures.

The manager works closely in partnership with other agencies to support and safeguard children and their families. Staff know children and their families extremely well, and quickly identify and respond if help is needed. The manager ensures that staff are suitable to work with children.

She follows robust procedures to recruit new staff. Staff keep up to date with their safeguarding and paediatric first-aid training.

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 encourage children to contribute more in activities and extend their learning to higher levels nenhance planning, so it is more sharply focused to provide rich and challenging experiences that are closely linked to all children's individual next steps in learning.