Parkstone Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children happily enjoy a range of stimulating activities that motivate them to learn and explore. For example, they enjoy mixing and creating 'snow dough'. They learn about 'full' and 'empty' and know the ingredients they need.

Children talk with confidence and describe how 'mummy cooks eggs in oil'. Staff skilfully link this to talking about safety at home. Children know that oil is really hot, demonstrating their awareness of potential hazards.

They are inquisitive and curious, and they ask questions about what items are made from. Staff clarify that plastic and wood make different sounds. This enables children to ta...p and explore the different sounds items make around them.

Younger children are keen to explore and play with toy dinosaurs. This supports their imaginative play. Children are happy and confident as they arrive at the pre-school.

They know what is expected of them, including how many children are to play in an area at any one time. Children are polite and behave well. They display high levels of confidence.

Children are creative as they paint and draw, and they proudly describe their artwork to others. For example, they say they have made a 'bear'. They talk to visitors and proudly show where they have written their name.

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

All children, including those who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are supported well. The manager and staff make good links with other agencies involved in the children's care and learning.Children show enthusiasm and concentrate well on their chosen activities.

Staff plan a range of exciting activities for children to enjoy. They assess children's learning regularly and have a good understanding of their interests and next steps in their learning.Staff listen and interact well with the children, supporting their vocabulary as they play.

For example, they make good use of repetition through naming objects on flash cards to help increase younger children's speech development.Staff provide a range of activities to support children's communication skills. For example, they read familiar stories using props and sing songs and rhymes.

However, sometimes, staff over-direct children during activities and answer questions for them too quickly. This means children do not have enough time to think, respond and share their own ideas, to maximise the learning potential.Children acquire key skills well in readiness for the next stage in their learning.

They count, recognise and match numerals on a tablet computer. Staff promote mathematical concepts well. For example, children count their friends at registration time.

Staff establish good relationships with parents and keep them informed and involved in their children's learning. For example, they routinely encourage parents to take home activities to support children's learning. Parents speak very highly of the team.

The key-person system works well. Relationships between staff and children are strong. Staff are sensitive, stimulating and responsive to children's needs.

Children learn to express their feelings effectively using signs, words and picture cards. This helps children to learn right from wrong.Children learn about healthy lifestyles.

They follow good hygiene routines. Children enjoy following instructions to movements to music and also have daily opportunities to play outdoors.Qualified staff access regular training, for example in supporting children's literacy and communication skills.

Staff help children to develop a love of books. Children create props and join in with repeated refrains of familiar stories well.The manager monitors the progress of individual children and groups of children.

This ensures any gaps in learning are swiftly addressed. She uses funding effectively, such as sourcing experiences from within the local community. The managers and staff are committed to ensuring children and their families are well supported.

The manager has a strong commitment to improve the pre-school and targets clear improvements. However, the management team has not fully embedded sharply focused evaluations of the staff's quality of teaching, to consistently deliver the highest quality of teaching.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The manager and staff access training to keep their knowledge of child protection up to date. They understand their responsibilities to safeguard children and have a clear understanding of the signs and symptoms that could indicate a child is at risk of harm. They know where to report any concerns they may have regarding children's safety and welfare.

Staff are vigilant and are deployed well to make sure children play in a safe and secure environment. The management team uses robust recruitment procedures to make sure that staff are suitable.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nincrease opportunities for children to explore their own ideas, respond to questions, and concentrate and think, to help them go beyond what they already know build on the systems to evaluate and monitor teaching, to ensure the good practice currently achieved is consistently improved upon.

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