Pirton Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at pre-school. They move around the well-equipped playroom and garden, selecting items that interest and inspire them.

Staff create unusual play spaces, helping to trigger children's creativity and imagination. Children show deep levels of concentration while they independently work out which resources they need to construct working models to use in their play. Staff ask relevant questions to help children build on what they already know.

This helps to move children to the next stage in their learning.Children enthusiastically join in with rhyming stories, showing their delight when... staff produce a puppet from inside a box that is linked to the book. This helps to immerse children in a language-rich environment, helping them develop greater skills in speaking and listening.

Staff take time to speak clearly to children. They repeat basic sentences children construct, adding more descriptive and exciting words for them to hear and use themselves. This assists children who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities to expand their emerging vocabulary.

Staff encourage children to think about others. They gently remind children to share toys and equipment. Staff provide resources such as sand timers for children to use themselves to help manage their actions.

When minor disputes do occur, staff encourage children to talk about how others might be feeling, helping to promote positive relationships and behaviour in a safe and secure environment.

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

Staff know children very well. They quickly identify and embrace children's interests and passions, incorporating them into activities that are memorable and relevant to children's individual progress.

The key-person system is highly effective. Staff work closely with parents to help provide continuity in care and education. Parents are encouraged to borrow themed activity bags to share the contents with children at home.

These help to provide new and different experiences for parents to have with their children.The manager and staff work well with other professionals and agencies. For example, they share ideas with Reception class teachers from the adjoining school to help promote a consistent approach to children's early reading and writing experiences.

This helps to prepare children for the next stage in their learning. Other professionals, such as speech and language therapists, also assist staff to gain valuable knowledge and understanding, to help support children at different stages in their communication development.Leaders value feedback from parents, staff and other professionals to help evaluate the quality of care and education.

Regular audits are undertaken to help identify areas for development. The manager sets action plans, helping all staff to play a part in the continual improvements within the pre-school.Regular staff meetings and supervision sessions help the manager monitor staff performance, contributing to the consistently high quality of education.

New staff follow a well-planned induction process to help clarify their responsibilities. This includes key procedures they must follow to help keep children safe. Staff cascade fresh ideas and new information gained from training to their colleagues, helping to support the professional development of the team.

Children enjoy physical activity. They negotiate obstacles while they confidently scoot and cycle in the garden. This helps them build strength in their muscles and develop an awareness of distance and space.

Children confidently move resources around the pre-school. Staff remain vigilant and quickly mop up, for example, spilt water and dry rice. This helps to reduce hazards throughout the day.

However, children do not always have regard or an awareness of the hazards they may cause. For example, through their eagerness to continue to investigate and explore, some children leave coats, boots and playthings on the floor.The dedicated staff plan ambitious activities that focus on children's individual next steps in learning.

At times, their enthusiasm to drive children's progress means they do not fully engage with other children who spontaneously join in. Consequently, opportunities to set challenges suitable for some children's level of understanding and abilities are missed.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have a good understanding of how to keep children safe. They know how to report any concerns they might have about children's welfare. The manager ensures that the correct contact details for relevant agencies are displayed for staff to see, should they need to use them.

The management committee follows robust selection and recruitment procedures. This helps to ensure that all staff and new committee members are suitable for the roles for which they are appointed.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: promote children's awareness and understanding of how they can reduce potential trip hazards for themselves, encouraging them to take responsibility for tidying away their own possessions and resources they are no longer using in a timely manner nenhance children's learning even more when they choose to join in existing activities, through clear plans to engage them at a level based on what they already know and can do.

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