North Weald Village Pre-School Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive happy and eager to enter the pre-school. They are greeted by enthusiastic and caring staff who know them well. Children settle quickly and make their own play choices from a good range of well-presented resources.

Children develop close relationships with their key person. They go to staff for cuddles, and staff are attentive to their individual needs. Children behave well.

They are kind, polite and play together well.Children enjoy playing outside in the garden. They have plenty of opportunities to develop their physical skills as they run around safely, climb on the apparatus and enthusiastically push... themselves along on the ride-on cars and trikes.

Children show good imagination as they prepare a 'tea party' in the cosy, wooden playhouse and confidently offer visitors a cup of tea. Children benefit from lots of activities to help develop their small hand muscles in readiness for early writing. For example, they use a variety of tools to mould and shape play dough, dig and scoop sand, and chalk on large chalk boards, both inside and outside.

Children enjoy trips out to the local area, such as visiting the nearby park, library and local train station. These experiences help children to gain a wider understanding of their local community.

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

The dedicated owner, who is also the manager, strives to provide children with high-quality care and learning experiences.

The manager and staff work closely with parents to make sure they know them well and understand about children's home lives. The management team uses additional funding effectively to enhance children's experiences. For example, it has recently purchased artificial grass for the outside area so that children can play outside all year round.

The manager observes staff practice and provides feedback to help improve the quality of the provision. She holds individual supervision meetings to discuss any concerns staff may have and to identify any additional training needs. Staff comment that their well-being is a high priority and that they feel supported in their roles.

They have access to ongoing training to further enhance their practice.Staff plan a broad range of activities to support children's evolving interests and individual needs. They work hard to ensure that children enjoy their time at the pre-school and have fun as they learn.

However, at times, group activities are not consistently organised to support the younger children, who do not always stay actively engaged in their learning.The pre-school has a designated special educational needs coordinator (SENCO). The SENCO provides very good support to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

She works with staff, parents and other professionals to ensure that children who require it get additional support quickly. Targeted plans are put in place and regularly reviewed to ensure that children make the most progress in their development.Staff join in with children during activities to promote their engagement.

However, staff do not always extend their interactions to help children to think things through and to support their learning further. For example, staff ask children to count the shells in the sand. When children make mistakes while counting quickly, staff do not support them to rectify this.

Staff engage children in conversations throughout the day. They show a genuine interest in what children have to say and encourage them to talk about their own experiences. Staff read children a good variety of stories and encourage them to talk about what they can see in the pictures.

Children enjoy singing and join in enthusiastically with the actions.Staff encourage children's independence across all age groups. Children learn to put their things away in their own drawers and put on their own coats and wellington boots before going outside.

Children serve themselves from a good range of healthy fruit and vegetables at snack time.Parents are full of praise for the pre-school and say their children enjoy attending. They say staff communicate well with them regarding their child's progress and development.

They value the discussions with staff at the end of each day about how their child has been and what they have been doing.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff demonstrate a robust knowledge of their responsibilities to safeguard and protect children.

They regularly update their safeguarding knowledge, for example through training and discussions at staff meetings. Staff have a secure understanding of the possible signs and behaviours that may indicate a child is at risk of harm. They are clear about how to refer any concerns, both within the pre-school and to relevant external agencies.

Staff understand how to respond swiftly to any concerns they may have about another member of staff's behaviour. A thorough recruitment and induction procedure is in place to ensure children are cared for by staff who are suitable to do so.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review the organisation of group activities to ensure that all children are fully engaged in their learning help staff to extend their interactions, to support children's learning further and help them make their maximum progress.