Stepping Stones Preschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy, confident, and settled at the welcoming pre-school. Staff greet them warmly on arrival.

Staff are kind and gentle in their approach to children. This helps children to feel safe and secure. Children demonstrate that they are happy to attend the pre-school.

They initiate conversation with staff and hug them warmly. Staff are attentive to children's needs. They sensitively guide children to follow routines, such as self-registering attendance, and to participate in the activities that have been set up for them to enjoy.

These experiences support children to settle and understand rules and pro...cedures. Children benefit from valuable experiences to support their knowledge and understanding of their local community. Staff teach children about emergency services.

For example, fire officers visit the pre-school and talk to the children about their roles. Children enjoy sitting in the fire engine and using the hosepipe. This experience supports children to learn about people who help us in the community and to broaden their understanding of how to stay safe.

Children are confident communicators. They initiate conversation and share their ideas for play. Staff recognise the importance of developing children's language skills.

They incorporate music and song into daily routines and activities that support children's developing communication and language skills. For example, children enjoy singing while pretending to be little bunnies and repeat new words that staff have modelled. These experiences help children to build a range of vocabulary.

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

Leaders implement effective strategies to promote staff well-being. Leaders ensure that staff have regular opportunities to discuss how they are getting on and any issues they might have. They ensure that staff complete mandatory training and encourage them to seek out training of interest.

However, current systems are not robust enough to coach and support less-experienced staff to deliver activities that fully engage children.Leaders have a well-thought-out curriculum. They know what they want children to learn and be able to do.

They understand the importance of sequencing children's learning to help them to make good progress. Leaders place a strong focus on supporting children's developing independence, communication and language, and preparation for their next stage of learning at school.Leaders support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well.

They work closely with other professionals, such as speech and language therapists and portage workers, to develop strategies to support each child to meet their individual targets. Leaders work in partnership with parents to help them to use these strategies at home. This helps to provide children with continuity of care and to help close gaps in their learning and development.

Staff have established secure parent partnerships. Parents comment that they feel very supported by staff and that children make good progress. Leaders accompany parents to school transition meetings and meetings with other professionals.

Staff provide regular feedback about children's learning and development. This helps parents to understand the progress that their children are making.Overall, children behave well and interact positively with staff and each other.

However, when children display inappropriate behaviour, staff do not always use consistent strategies to manage this effectively. For example, some children shout and push each other when queueing to wash their hands, and staff remind children to wait quietly. However, when children do not respond, staff do not always provide children with clear boundaries.

This means that children do not always know what is expected of them.Staff support children's physical development well. Children benefit from regular opportunities to access fresh air and exercise.

Children develop their core strength while using the climbing frame, and develop hand-to-eye coordination during ball games. Staff support children to adopt healthy lifestyles. They use funding to purchase boxes filled with fruit and vegetables to help ensure that all children have access to healthy foods.

Staff support children to be independent. They encourage children to wash and dry their hands, use the toilet, and get their own belongings. Children choose from a variety of resources and activities indoors and outdoors.

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: nenhance the arrangements to support and coach staff to identify and address minor inconsistencies in the quality of teaching provide consistent boundaries and strategies for children to help them to understand the expectations for behaviour so they learn the impact that their actions may have on others.