St Joseph’s Pre-School Playgroup

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive happy and eager to start their day. They are greeted by familiar staff who offer a warm and friendly welcome. Staff support children with the morning routines as they proudly self-register using personalised pictures alongside their written names.

They are quick to scan the room before self-selecting from an array of play experiences and activities that staff have carefully planned. Staff know children very well and incorporate their individual curiosities into planned activities as well as promoting their individual next steps in learning. This supports all children, including those with special educational nee...ds and/or disabilities (SEND), to be motivated in their play and make progress in their learning.

Staff understand the influential impact they have on children. They are positive role models and apply a calm and consistent approach to supporting children as they begin to understand their growing feelings and emotions. This contributes to children's positive behaviour as they learn right from wrong.

In addition, staff understand the importance of developing secure attachments with children. They are attentive and responsive to children's individual needs. In turn, children are confident to seek out staff for play and support when needed.

Furthermore, staff adapt and reflect on the daily routine to ensure that it meets children's unique needs. This supports children's emotional well-being and helps them to develop a positive sense of belonging.

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

Leaders, alongside their staff team, thoughtfully plan a broad and well-balanced curriculum.

Staff skilfully intertwine all seven areas of learning into play experiences and activities. They know children well and accurately plan appropriate next steps that are tailored to each child. These next steps in learning consider what children can already do and remember, and what staff want to teach them next and why.

This supports children to succeed in their learning.Children's communication skills are a priority at this pre-school. Younger children and those who are still developing their spoken language have opportunities to hear clearly spoken, simple and repetitive words.

Older children delight as they join in purposeful back-and-forth conversations. Visual aids are consistently used to complement spoken language. This helps children to make connections in their learning and prepare for what is happening next during daily transitions.

Generally, interactions that children receive from staff are positive and thought-provoking to encourage learning. However, sometimes, not all staff identify and build on children's immediate interests as they arise during play. This means that, at times, not all staff consistently extend children's thinking as fully as possible.

This does not consistently encourage children's curiosities in new experiences to extend their learning.Staff provide opportunities to promote children's physical development. Children delight in their time outside.

They splash in puddles, practise balancing on stilts and manoeuvre their whole bodies as they explore the outdoor space. This promotes children's core muscle development. In addition, staff carefully consider ways that children's small-muscle development can be promoted.

For example, children spend time pinching, rolling and squeezing dough. This develops their hand-eye coordination and small-muscle dexterity, which prepares them for early writing.Staff skilfully incorporate mathematics through everyday experiences.

They introduce language such as 'full', 'empty' and 'heavy'. This supports children to develop a good grounding in early mathematics.Staff successfully support children with SEND.

They work in close partnership with other professionals and include specific strategies and advice to enhance their practice. This enables children to make good progress in relation to their starting points. Leaders ensure that children who are in receipt of additional funding benefit from initiatives that provide them with the experiences they need.

Leaders recognise that children may have access to technology and the internet outside of the pre-school. Parents are provided with information on how to help keep children safe online. However, leaders have not yet considered how to support children in their early understanding of online safety to help them learn to keep themselves safe when accessing the internet.

Parents speak highly of the pre-school and all staff. They feel that their children's individual care and learning are well supported, and report that they feel well informed of their children's learning. Parents particularly appreciate the secure attachments that staff build with children and them, knowing that staff are always on hand to give advice and support when needed.

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 all staff to consistently recognise opportunities that arise from children's immediate interests during play to extend children's thinking skills further to enhance their learning nenhance the curriculum to provide opportunities to support children's understanding of how to keep themselves safe online.

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