Squirrels Pre-School Rugby Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

All children thrive in this vibrant learning environment. All areas are rich in stimulating learning opportunities that children are eager to experience.

Staff are passionate in their roles. They provide children with an exceptionally broad range of activities, which are tailor-made to meet their individual learning needs. Children delight as they persevere to pick up stones with sticks and transport them to containers.

They cheer as their efforts are praised. Children show high levels of confidence and engagement in activities. Staff provide highly effective support, which helps children to develop their creati...ve and independence skills in a range of ways.

Children are highly focused as they skilfully use scissors and glue to cut and stick materials to create their own puppets. They move on to use their puppets in their 'light' theatre and invent their own stories. Children's behaviour is excellent.

Children are helped to understand and manage their own feelings, with positive guidance from staff. Parents speak very highly of the staff at the setting and comment on the improvements they have seen in their children's behaviour. They say that they are kept informed about their children's learning and are involved in deciding what their children need to learn next.

All children gain the skills they need, and more, for moving on to their next stages in learning and the eventual move to school.

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

Managers are ambitious, passionate and inspiring. They carefully monitor the progress of all children so that any emerging gaps in learning are quickly narrowed.

Staff are highly skilled and experienced. Accurate assessments are made of children, which help staff to identify precisely and plan for what each child needs to learn next. Parents contribute to the assessments and are kept up to date with what their children are working on so that they can continue the support at home.

Staff know the children exceptionally well. They offer the right level of unique support at the right time so that children's learning is maximised and they gain the most from their experiences.The quality of teaching is exceptional throughout the setting.

Staff model language and extend children's vocabulary extremely well. They use their skills to ask children open-ended questions and provide ample time to enable children to think and respond. As a result, children are becoming skilled communicators who use elaborate language to describe and explain what they do.

Children are highly involved as they listen to stories and sing familiar songs. They develop a strong love of books. Younger children sit cosily together to share stories and learn to take turns as they turn the pages.

Staff promote problem-solving skills effectively. For example, outdoors, children devise an intricate obstacle course for staff to walk along. They think about how they can bridge the gaps and explain what staff need to do to get to the other side.

The pre-school environment is very well planned and organised so that children have abundant opportunities to engage in open-ended, stimulating play. There is a culture of equal emphasis on learning that takes place as part of everyday self-help routines as well as adult-led activities. This helps children to develop all the skills they need in readiness for school.

Children recall a recent bus trip and talk about the pictures of what they saw. Staff build on what children already know and have very high expectations of what they can achieve. The walls are rich in print, signs and pictures.

Children with English as an additional language are helped to develop their communication skills in a range of ways, including family members visiting to read stories in their home language to the group.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported to achieve well. Staff work together with parents and other professionals to ensure that unique support is in place for each child so that they receive the very best of experiences to help them make the best possible progress.

Children have constant opportunities to learn about respect, and value the differences and similarities in people around them. They learn to communicate with signing as part of everyday routines and visit a range of places to learn about different cultures to develop their understanding further.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of the signs and symptoms of abuse. They are clear about the reporting procedures they must follow in the event of concerns about a child. Staff understand the procedures to follow where they are concerned about an adult working with children.

There is a comprehensive range of policies to ensure the ongoing safety and welfare of children. The environment is thoroughly checked daily to ensure that risks are minimised and hazards are identified and removed. Recruitment procedures for staff are robust and regular checks for their ongoing suitability are carried out.

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