Stay And Play Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children feel safe, secure and happy in the caring and welcoming environment. The partnership with parents is good and the children know the staff well. They develop a strong bond with their key person which contributes positively to their well-being.

The setting supports children's physical and emotional development effectively. For example, children engaged in an activity with couscous, chickpeas and emotion pebbles, talking about different feelings. The staff plan activities around the children's interests.

This ensures that children enjoy learning and make good progress towards their next steps. Children develop co...nfidence as staff provide them with lots of encouragement. Staff use effective teaching methods to encourage children to become independent learners.

There are lots of opportunities for children to develop these skills throughout the day. They confidently put their coats and shoes on, pour their drinks at snack time and self-select activities that interest them. They enjoy exploring the outside in the fresh air.

They chase each other round the playground and help push each other in the cars. Staff have high expectations for all children's behaviour. The rules are well embedded and understood in the setting and children demonstrate them confidently during the day.

The setting has a good relationship with the primary school. They share resources and facilities and the children enjoy having story time in the old library. This helps to prepare them for their transition on to school.

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

The setting fosters good relationships with parents, who praise the staff highly. They feel very involved in their child's learning and attend regular meetings to discuss their children's progress. Parents also contribute to an online learning journal to strengthen the partnership with the setting.

The staff are very attentive and speak kindly and affectionately to the children. In turn, the children show high levels of respect for their friends and the staff. The behaviour is exemplary as the children mirror that of the excellent staff role models.

For example, they show extremely kind behaviour towards each other and listen intently to the other children during show and tell. Staff offer a healthy diet and provide information to parents to help them with healthy choices for lunches.Children have a positive attitude to learning.

They join in enthusiastically with all activities and display high levels of perseverance when they cannot do something the first time. They make good progress from their starting points and this helps them to prepare for the next stage in their learning.The manager has a good relationship with the staff and in turn they speak highly of her.

They know their well-being is important and feel part of a very strong team. The manager ensures their continued professional development is supported. She keeps the staff updated on any possible training opportunities.

Staff have the same expectations for all children. The setting is currently supporting some children with speech and language delay. Most staff support children's learning well overall.

However, this is not consistent across the setting. At times, some staff do not challenge the children's thinking and miss opportunities to extend their language.The manager has an accurate view of the quality of the setting and what it needs to do to improve.

She is currently looking to access training to help the staff in order to encourage children's mathematical skills. At present, the staff do not offer opportunities for children to explore all mathematical concepts.Children enjoy reading books, both independently and in groups.

At story time, the staff used intonation in their voice to keep the children interested throughout the story. The staff member also provided puppets to keep the children interested and engaged.Children are encouraged to develop their independence.

They all have large, named bags to keep all their belongings in. This helps even the youngest children start to be independent accessing their things throughout the day. They also manage their own self-hygiene, letting a staff member know when they are going to the toilet.

They wash their hands before their snack and ask politely to get down when they have finished.The setting works closely with outside agencies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. It quickly identifies children who may need help and completes the required paperwork to refer them for further support.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff give high priority to safeguarding. They have up-to-date safeguarding training and have a good understanding of how to keep children safe.

They have a good knowledge of the signs and symptoms of abuse and a broad understanding of wider safeguarding issues. Staff know the whistleblowing procedure and the steps to follow if they have a concern about a child in their care. The manager has a robust recruitment process.

She completes rigorous checks to ensure that only those suitable to work with children do so. Daily risk assessments of the resources and environment ensure the children's safety.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nensure all staff make consistent use of effective teaching techniques to increase children's thinking skills and extend their language development develop further the staff team's awareness and understanding of how to encourage children's mathematical skills.

Also at this postcode