St Paul’s Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff create a safe and stimulating play environment for children. From the moment children enter this vibrant setting, their laughter fills the air. They greet visitors with great enthusiasm and are keen to share their artwork.

Staff support children's emotional well-being exceptionally well. They teach children about managing their feelings. Children skilfully discuss how they can help their friends if they are feeling sad.

Children have a strong sense of belonging and behave well. They settle quickly and develop secure friendships.Staff are excellent role models.

They have high expectations for each child a...nd want them to flourish through high-quality learning experiences. Children show good levels of concentration and are keen to take on new challenges. For example, older children learn how to ride scooters and bicycles.

They enjoy learning about planting vegetables and help to harvest these to eat at snacktime. Younger children immerse themselves in deep imagination as they build a 'magical home' outdoors. They use a wheelbarrow to transport sand and giggle with delight while exploring gloop.

Children are highly independent. They serve their own snacks, tidy toys away and help to clean their plates after they have finished eating. Children develop good skills in readiness for their move on to school.

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

Since the last inspection, leaders have been relentless in their pursuit in raising standards across the setting. The manager has embraced external support to help further improve the setting. She demonstrates an inspirational attitude towards self-evaluation and wants each child at the setting to thrive.

Overall, staff provide children with a balanced and broad curriculum. Staff know children well and use this to plan interesting activities. For example, older children relish making 'mud paint'.

They show high levels of enjoyment while learning about wildlife and dinosaurs. However, the curriculum for mathematics is not as strong as other areas of learning. For example, some staff do not introduce counting and number recognition skills to children effectively.

This means that children's mathematical skills are not promoted to the highest level.Staff promote children's speaking and listening skills incredibly well. They use adult-led activities to introduce new vocabulary and to ask children thought-provoking questions.

Children respond well and are excellent communicators. They enjoy learning how to blend letter sounds together and use this to aid their early reading skills.Leaders give staff well-being high priority.

They hold daily meetings with staff and check how they are managing with their workload. Staff report that working at the setting is like a family. They receive supervision sessions and appraisal meetings.

Leaders identify that they would like to provide staff with more detailed feedback about their interactions with children, to help raise their practice to a higher level.The support in place for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is excellent. Leaders have a secure understanding of how to support children with SEND effectively.

Their ethos of early intervention and close partnership working are key successes to ensuring children with SEND are included in every aspect of the setting. This helps children with SEND to flourish.Partnership working is a golden thread of this setting.

Links with parents, external professionals and the local authority are good. Parents receive regular updates about their children's time at the setting. They told the inspector that the setting is 'fabulous' and that staff go above and beyond.

The local authority commends leaders for their sustained efforts and for putting children first.Children are fascinated to learn about the world around them. They learn how to care for the environment and help to pick up litter in the local community.

Children help to raise money for people who are less fortunate than they are. Staff teach children well about similarities and differences between themselves and others. Children discuss how some families are different and how some people have different skin colour.

Care practices are effective. Staff teach children about healthy living. Children enjoy taking part in yoga and sport lessons.

They talk about where food comes from and how it is grown. Children learn about good oral health and observe the rhythm of their heartbeats after playing outdoors.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

A strong culture of keeping children safe runs throughout this setting. Leaders ensure that staff attend child protection training. They check staff's safeguarding knowledge by asking them questions.

Staff are highly skilled in knowing the potential signs and indicators of abuse and neglect. Leaders keep abreast of changes in legislation and local procedures. They understand the referral process and know the steps to take if there is an allegation against a colleague.

Staff teach children about e-safety and how to keep themselves safe while they are away from the setting. Leaders ensure that staff have a broad understanding of safeguarding issues, such as female genital mutilation and radicalisation.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: refine the curriculum for mathematics, to better support children's counting and number recognition skills give staff more detailed feedback about their interactions with children, to help raise staff practice to a higher level.

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