St Martin’s Pre-School CIO

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children arrive happy, respond to staff's warm smiles and put away their belongings responsibly. They readily explore the variety of interesting activities on offer, such as building train tracks, connecting carriages and moving them along the winding track. Children are keen learners.

However, issues relating to children's safety are not well-managed. The provider does not ensure risk assessments are effectively followed in practice. This includes not taking all reasonable steps to ensure fire exits are free from obstruction.

This compromises children's safety. Although the provider's curriculum is varied, staff do not a...lways effectively implement it in a way that maximises children's learning. Some staff do not consider potential learning opportunities based on each child's existing knowledge and skills.

Staff are better equipped to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The provider uses additional funding to enhance children's real-life experiences, such as offering dance and music classes to develop their self-expression. Children display increasing levels of confidence and independence.

This is supported well by staff who offer encouragement and praise when children try to do things for themselves, such as putting on their own coats before choosing to go in the garden. Staff generally encourage children to behave well and show good manners. However, there are times when some staff do not promote children's behaviour positively, such as when minor disputes occur.

In this way, children do not consistently learn effective ways to help them to self-regulate their emotions.

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

Leaders do not monitor the effectiveness of risk assessments. For example, they are not always aware that staff do not encourage children to tidy away their toys.

These resources remain scattered across the floor for most of the day. Leaders have ensured that all staff have completed fire warden training. Despite this, leaders and staff do not check that this training is implemented.

Some toys stay in front of the main fire exit for long periods of time. All staff step over these and children follow suit. This means children's safety is not assured.

Leaders do not ensure professional development programmes are effective in enhancing staff's teaching skills. Consequently, not all children have access to meaningful interactions that consistently build on what children need to learn next. Leaders do not closely monitor how well the curriculum is delivered by staff or the impact this is having on children's ongoing development.

They do not give clear feedback or coach individual staff on ways to improve their practice. This means that inconsistencies in staff's teaching remain.Children's language and communication skills are supported well.

Most staff competently introduce new words during children's play, to widen their vocabulary. Children grow in confidence and willingly contribute their own opinions and ideas at social times in the day, such as mealtimes. They demonstrate a real love for books, such as when they sit with their friends and freely talk about the pictures in a familiar story book.

Staff provide good levels of support to those who may have gaps in their speech and language development, such as through targeted interventions. These programmes successfully promote children's speaking, listening and attention skills.Children develop an understanding of ways to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Staff teach children appropriate techniques to brush their teeth with a manual or electric toothbrush. Children learn words, such as 'tartar' and 'cavity'. Older children begin to use these terms in their responses to staff's questions.

Children follow good hygiene routines, such as washing hands with soap before mealtimes. In addition, all children enjoy daily exercise in the fresh air, to help them stay fit.Children learn about the diversity of cultures represented at the setting.

Parents are regularly invited into the setting to share stories with children in their home languages. Additionally, children comment positively on images of people with different skin tones, when sharing books. Staff encourage children to talk about any significant celebrations.

This enables children to compare their home lives with others, which helps them to understand what makes them unique.Children show positive attitudes to learning. They immerse themselves in their own play, with their friends or staff.

However, some staff do not always engage positively when children's unwanted behaviour or minor conflicts arise. They do not offer clear explanations about why such incidents are unacceptable. As a result, children do not learn how to play more cooperatively or consider the impact of their behaviour on others.

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 meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date ensure risk assessments are effectively completed, implemented in practice and monitored closely by leaders 17/12/2024 develop systems for monitoring staff's practice to secure good quality teaching across the provision 13/01/2025 establish staff's high expectations around children's behaviour and support staff to positively help children to understand and follow the rules and boundaries.

13/01/2025

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