St John’s Church Pre-School Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff have high expectations for all children. They plan activities to support children's learning and take into account their individual interests.

Children enjoy the time they spend at this welcoming and friendly setting. They arrive happy and with enthusiasm to learn. Children have a positive attitude to their learning and are eager to take part in activities.

For example, they become engaged in their play, such as when they build car ramps outdoors, balancing pipes on milk crates. Children use their small-muscle skills well to manipulate the cars around their creations. They cooperate with each other and are well b...ehaved.

Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. They sit with staff, who read stories with passion. Staff are kind and considerate.

They respond well to children's individual needs, offering children comfort and reassurance. This helps children to build secure attachments with staff and to develop their confidence and self-esteem. Children listen to and happily respond to staff when they are asked to do something.

For instance, they cooperate and tidy away the toys when it is time for lunch. Staff provide praise which helps children to understand what is expected from them.

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

From the moment they arrive, children are excited and eager to play and learn.

New children settle quickly, developing secure attachments to staff and show that they feel safe. Staff observe children in their settling-in sessions and assess their level of development and interests. This allows staff get to know children well and helps them support children to make progress from the very start.

Staff respond promptly to any delays in children's learning and development. They provide targeted activities to support children effectively. As a result, children are confident talkers and any gaps in their development, including their communication and language skills, are narrowing.

The manager uses additional funding effectively to help support those who need it most.The setting is inclusive. Staff are experienced and well supported to help them in their work with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

The setting's special educational needs coordinator works closely with parents, and other agencies who may be involved, to put appropriate interventions in place to support those children who need it. As a result, children progress well from their starting points and are ready for their next stage of learning and eventual move on to school.Children develop confidence and curiosity from an early stage.

They show a keen interest in group games and activities. For example, younger children happily fill and empty various containers with coloured rice. They listen carefully and pay close attention to staff's actions during the activity.

However, occasionally, staff do not use a wide enough range of teaching methods to encourage children to think deeply and express their own thoughts and ideas.Partnerships with parents are very strong. Staff encourage parents to borrow the home-learning bags to help support their children's learning at home.

Parents say staff make them feel very welcome and keep them informed fully of their children's learning and development. They are delighted at the good levels of progress their children make.Staff help children to manage their self-care, such as washing their hands independently after using the toilet and before meals and snacks.

However, staff do not consistently use opportunities to promote children's knowledge of personal hygiene practices, such as wiping their own nose or washing their hands after sneezing.The manager carries out regular supervision meetings with staff and targets areas for their professional development. Overall, this helps to increase the quality of teaching well.

Staff have attended training on how to support children aged two years. This has had a positive impact on how staff teach this group of children. For instance, children learn to use clothes pegs to pick up balls of cotton wool to strengthen their fine motor skills.

The manager uses reflections from staff and feedback from parents and their local authority adviser to help her evaluate the effectiveness of the service. She uses this information to make changes and improvements. This has resulted recently in staff implementing resources, such as a multilingual 'talking pen' to help support children who speak English as an additional language.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and her staff team have a robust understanding of the procedures to follow should they have concerns about a child's welfare. They have attended training to support them in recognising the possible signs and symptoms of abuse, and describe confidently the action they would take if they had concerns regarding a colleague's practice.

Security of the premises is monitored effectively during drop-off and collection times. Staff are vigilant in minimising any risks to children so that the environment supports children to play safely.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: provide even more opportunities for children to think deeply about what they are doing and express their own thoughts and ideas nenhance staff practice to support children to follow a good hygiene routine consistently.