St Paul’s Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The passionate manager has high ambitions for all children and leads her staff team well. Together they promote an inclusive curriculum that ignites children's curiosity to learn and successfully nurtures children's emotional well-being and confidence.

Children arrive eagerly and settle quickly, keen to start their day. They develop warm relationships with staff and each other and behave well. Children learn about values, including what 'generous' means, as they gift examples of their artwork to visitors at a local community group.

They develop good levels of independence and benefit from energetic play outdoors in the... fresh air, where they take manageable risks and learn about staying safe. Staff skilfully provide effective support to children who are developing their communication skills, including children learning to speak English as an additional language. Children enthusiastically join in song times, showing a good recall of the lyrics.

They clap along in time to the rhythm of the guitar song and sing louder and softer when they hear changes to the tempo in the music. Children become enthralled as staff creatively recreate a popular fairy story and expertly volunteer their ideas on what might happen next. They show confidence in following their own ideas and show high levels of respect for the views of others.

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

The committee provides strong governance for the staff team. It holds a good oversight of the priorities for improvement and fulfils its strategic role very successfully. Individual committee members access training specific to their lead roles, such as safeguarding and recruitment.

They use this training effectively to monitor the curriculum and ensure children's safety, including ensuring the suitability of all staff. The committee places a strong priority on reducing staff workload and successfully promotes staff's well-being and personal development.The manager provides effective leadership for her team.

She uses her training, professional qualifications and experience well to mentor and guide staff in their personal development. Staff morale is high, with staff saying that they feel supported in their roles. They benefit from a recently revised programme of staff supervisions that are steadily supporting staff to build further on their skills or professional qualifications.

Staff show a good knowledge of children's individual learning needs. They assess children's progress accurately and ensure that the curriculum they offer builds securely on what children need to know next. However, not all staff confidently challenge children in their learning so that children make the best possible progress.

Despite this, all children securely develop a wide range of skills in readiness for the move to the next stage in their education.Staff successfully support children's good health. They help children learn about healthy choices, such as through the provision of nutritious snacks.

Children show they are emotionally secure and develop positive attitudes towards learning. Staff provide sensitive support for all children, including those who require further support to build their resilience when faced with setbacks. They manage children's behaviour well, helping children understand and talk through their feelings.

However, there are times during the day when the organisation of the routine does not lend itself to creating an orderly and calm learning environment. For example, near the end of the morning session, staff start to pack away resources and children become distracted in their learning.Partnership with parents is a key strength of the pre-school and contributes very successfully to children's good progress.

The manager creates an inclusive learning community that celebrates the uniqueness of each child and places the family at the centre of all that they do. Information sharing is focused on supporting and guiding parents on how to build further on children's learning at home. Initiatives such as weekly drop-in groups provide parents with opportunities to share experiences and benefit from the advice of experienced staff.

Parents comment positively on their experiences at the pre-school, saying that 'staff go above and beyond' to support their families.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff and committee members demonstrate a secure understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures.

They are clear on where to go should they have a concern about a child or the behaviour of another adult. The designated safeguarding leads work in effective partnership with a range of professionals and organisations, which successfully promotes an approach of early help and support. The committee implements robust recruitment procedures that ensure the suitability of all staff and volunteers.

It oversees a thorough induction process that ensures staff are well briefed in their roles and responsibilities, including safeguarding matters. Staff implement a wide range of policies and procedures, including comprehensive risk assessments that promote children's safety well.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review the organisation of the daily routine so that children are able to access a wide range of resources and make choices in their play without interruption make sure all staff are well informed and are clear on their intentions for children's learning, so that all children are helped to make the best progress they are capable of.