Sennen and Land’s End Pre-school

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children and parents are greeted warmly by the friendly staff.

They make independent choices on the direction of their play from a selection of age-appropriate toys and resources. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive good support from staff. Staff work closely with other professionals and children's parents to ensure that children with SEND have appropriate support for their needs.

Children learn through an effective balance of adult-led activities and child-initiated play opportunities.Children become deeply engaged in their play and remain at their chosen activity for long period...s of time. Staff use children's interests to plan activities.

For example, children enjoy the new experience of making pancakes. They mix flour, pour milk and crack open eggs. Children add fruit and honey excitedly to their freshly cooked pancake.

They become engrossed in rolling their pancake and cutting it into pieces.Staff engaged with families to support children's continued progress during the COVID-19 national lockdowns. They sent out learning packs and kept in contact through telephone calls and emails.

When children returned, staff placed a strong emphasis on children's social interactions, which is proving successful. The well-established key-person system promotes children's emotional well-being and helps them to form secure attachments.

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

The manager and staff work hard to review and improve the curriculum.

They plan a board curriculum to build on what children know and can already do. Staff listen to children's interests and plan activities that follow theses interests to enable children to find out more. For instance, children show an interest in finding out about different breeds of birds.

Children use binoculars to look closely at birds landing in the garden. They refer to a poster to see if they can spot any of the birds. This broadens the opportunities for children to learn about the birds.

Staff model language well and ask children questions. However, at times, their enthusiasm means that they do not allow children enough thinking time to form answers to their questions. This means that they do not take advantage of opportunities to further extend children's language skills.

The garden is well used. All children have the opportunity to play outside each day in the fresh air. There is a wide range of resources, which meet children's needs well.

Older children climb and swing, and younger children dig in sand and manoeuvre wheeled vehicles around the garden.Staff use positive praise and encourage children to have a go. They are good role models and give children gentle explanations of how they expect them to behave.

Children behave well and enjoy the company of others. They play cooperatively and learn to share and take turns. This helps to prepare children well for their next stages of learning and eventual move on to school.

Children show high levels of independence during activities. They practise holding pencils and some are beginning to form letters. Children show determination and a can-do attitude.

Older children enjoy taking on additional responsibilities, such as clearing the table for lunch. This helps to nurture their growing independence. Younger children are supported in developing their independence skills.

For example, staff encourage them to put on their coats for outdoor play.The manager and deputy review the setting effectively to make improvements. They monitor staff's performance to help identify their strengths and where improvements can be made.

Staff attend regular supervision meetings to review their practice. All staff receive good coaching, support and training from leaders and outside sources.Parents are positive about the pre-school and the staff.

They comment that the setting 'feels like an extension of home' and that staff are 'professional and friendly'. However, not all parents know what they can do to support their child's learning at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The manager and staff have a clear understanding of their individual responsibility to keep children safe. They understand what would constitute a safeguarding concern. All staff have completed safeguarding training and understand their safeguarding responsibilities.

Staff regularly risk assess the environment, checking for potential hazards. The premises are secure, with locks on all entrances. Children play and learn in a safe and secure space.

Staff deploy themselves well and supervise children with vigilance. They are trained in paediatric first aid and know the correct procedures in response to accidents.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff further to develop their teaching to ensure they give children enough time to think and respond to any questions they ask in order to extend children's language skills nextend the partnerships with parents further to help all parents understand how to support their child's individual learning at home.