Polesden Lacey Playschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

All children arrive happy and eager to explore the interesting range of play activities that are available to them. Staff work very closely with parents to understand the individual needs of children, and they use this information to provide bespoke care and education. Children thrive in the care of the nurturing, attentive staff.

They form positive relationships with their key person and their peers. This supports children to develop a strong sense of security and bolsters their confidence to explore play spaces and deeply engage in self-chosen challenges.Staff know their children very well and use a variety of teaching skills... to build on what children already know, remember and can do.

They provide purposeful interactions though asking children questions to challenge their thinking and encourage them to share their play ideas. This contributes towards sustaining children's involvement and concentration skills so they can make connections in their learning.Children behave well and play happily alongside their friends.

They are settled well and become motivated learners. Staff provide a well-designed curriculum that ensures all educational programmes are delivered through adult-led activities, free play opportunities and thoughtful organisation of the learning environment that encourages children to explore and investigate. Children also benefit from a range of experiences that help them to learn about the natural world outside of the playschool.

For example, staff teach children how to grow and tend to their own fruit and vegetables in the allotment space. They use this experience to talk to children about where foods come from and how they contribute towards healthy lifestyle choices. Furthermore, staff provide suitable levels of support for children's developing independence.

For instance, children practise using resources and small tools in a variety of ways, which includes using small knives to prepare healthy food that they try at snack time.

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

Leaders and managers work closely with staff to ensure they provide good support to plan and implement an early years curriculum that strives to help all children prepare well for their next stages of learning.Overall, staff identify the needs of their key children and use this to plan activities and experiences to support children's learning well.

They are highly ambitious for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and sensitively adapt the provision to help them make the progress they are capable of. Staff skilfully identify activities that capture children's interest and build on their existing skills. Occasionally, what staff intend children to learn is too broad in approach.

Furthermore, staff do not always give enough consideration to organising the environment and noise levels, making it hard for children to concentrate when learning. Despite these minor points, children demonstrate they have positive attitudes to learning. Staff demonstrate commitment to helping children make good progress in their learning and development.

Staff identify the importance of supporting children's communication and language skills. They are consistent in their approach and provide lots of opportunities for children to hear language used in a variety of contexts to help build on their range of vocabulary. Staff introduce new words linked to children's play experiences.

For example, during an art and craft session, where children select their own resources to design their own Christmas tree pictures, staff introduce the word 'artificial' when describing different kinds of Christmas trees. Children are fascinated and it stimulates further discussion that encourages children to develop their conversational skills with others. Furthermore, staff are highly skilled and use a range of intonation in their voices when reading stories and singing songs, which captivates children and encourages them to join in with gusto! This helps children's developing language skills.

The curriculum to support children's physical development is embedded well. Staff teach children skills and techniques to develop both their fine and gross motor movements. For example they give children time and encouragement during craft activities to practise using tools such as scissors, sticky tape dispensers and hole punches.

This helps to develop children's hand dexterity and contributes towards children's fine manipulative skills while exploring their own creative ideas. Furthermore, children relish the opportunity to practise their large motor skills as they navigate and balance on different-level planks and stepping stones. This helps children learn how to move their bodies in a variety of ways.

Staff support children to develop good behaviour and social skills. They successfully help children to understand the rules of the playschool to help keep themselves and others safe. Staff sensitively use resources to teach children about their emotions and to learn how to collaborate and cooperate with others.

This prepares children well in their personal, social and emotional development to be active members of their playschool community.Leaders pride themselves on the quality of partnership arrangements in place with parents and other professionals. Staff provide regular updates on children's progress and offer advice and support for further home learning.

Furthermore, parents are provided with guidance and information to help them to prepare for moving their child on to school. Leaders organise events to welcome parents to be involved in activities such as story reading in the playschool. Parents' feedback demonstrates they hold the playschool in high regard.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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 consider the organisation of noise levels and space when delivering activities so children's ability to concentrate is not adversely impacted strengthen staff teaching practice so that what is intended to be taught is precisely aligned to the needs of individual children and not too broad.

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