Rochester Preschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The manager and staff warmly welcome children as they happily arrive to start their day. Children are encouraged to be independent from the start. They learn to recognise their name to self-register and find their pegs to hang up their coats.

Children are well prepared for their move on to school. Children have strong attachments to their key person and some of them like to have cuddles before choosing where they would like to play. Staff are caring and kind, and they support children's individual needs.

They are positive role models and ooze enthusiasm with the children. They engage fully with them and make learning f...un. Overall, children listen and behave well.

Children learn to compromise, share resources fairly and take turns. They display positive attitudes to learning and help themselves to resources and decide which activities to do. Staff promote children's literacy skills throughout daily activities.

For instance, they encourage children to practise their early writing skills and inspire children to develop a love of books. Staff place a strong focus on developing children's communication and language skills, particularly for children who speak English as an additional language. For instance, as they engage in conversation with children, they emphasise key words to help them to develop clear pronunciation and a wider vocabulary.

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

The managers and staff accurately evaluate the quality of the pre-school. They include the views of parents to help identify areas for further improvement. For example, the outdoor area has been successfully enhanced to provide children with a range of experiences and learning in all areas of their development.

Staff work very well with parents to ensure they know and understand how their children are developing, and provide good opportunities for learning to continue at home. Parents take books home from the pre-school to read with their children. Parents are complimentary about the pre-school.

They comment that their children are keen to attend and are well cared for.The manager thoughtfully uses additional funding to enhance children's learning and development, for example by enhancing the role-play resources and making improvements to the role-play area. This helps children to develop their imagination, communication and language skills.

Staff say they feel supported in their role and are extremely keen to continually develop their knowledge and skills. They talk enthusiastically about the wide range of online training they have access to and the positive impact this has on their practice. For instance, following recent training, staff have implemented a new observation and planning system.

This has helped them to monitor the progress children make more easily.Overall, children benefit from a rich, enjoyable and well-planned programme of activities. Staff are experienced and knowledgeable.

There is good focus on different learning experiences with strong educational value. This is apparent when children participate in small-world play with cars and trucks. They work collaboratively to create road tracks across the floor and confidently negotiate their creative ideas.

Staff use timely interventions to enhance children's learning effectively. For example, staff use factual books to enhance children's understanding and awareness of road safety. Children are appropriately challenged to measure and compare the different lengths of their roads, problem solve and decide which vehicles will fit underneath the bridges they have created.

However, on some occasions, such as the period of time before lunch and children being collected when children play together in larger groups, activities are not consistently used well enough to engage all children in the learning opportunities.All children make good progress, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. Staff share information with other agencies and professionals involved in providing additional support.

They work together effectively to provide targeted support for children's development. However, staff have not yet fully established working in partnership with other settings that children attend to help provide continuity in children's learning and development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The provider has clear safeguarding policies in place and these are referred to and implemented as needed. Staff have a secure understanding of the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk of abuse. They know the correct reporting procedures to follow in order to promote children's welfare.

The process for staff recruitment and induction is robust. This helps to ensure that all adults who work with children are suitable to do so and that they are aware of their individual roles and responsibilities.

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 large-group activities to increase the learning opportunities for all children strengthen partnership working with other settings that the children attend to help to provide continuity in their learning and development.

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