The Horseshoe Community Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children play and learn in a welcoming, secure and attractive environment.

Children form strong bonds with the caring staff, which helps them to feel happy and safe. For example, children cuddle up during circle time and give staff hugs. Children behave exceptionally well and are excited to try new activities.

Children develop good independence in their personal care skills. They serve themselves from a selection of healthy snacks and know how to tidy their own plates and cups away. Staff support children effectively to learn how to dress themselves.

For instance, they help children develop the skills they nee...d to do up zippers on their coats when dressing for outdoor play.Staff have high expectations of each child, including those in need of additional support. Overall, staff interact positively with children to support their learning, such as through using effective questioning.

This supports children to develop their language and communication skills. However, occasionally children wait for long periods of time to do activities and have their questions answered. This can lead to some children losing focus.

Children make good progress from their starting points. Staff prepare activities that support children's next steps in learning, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, staff do not track the progress of children's development thoroughly over time to provide an even more precise picture of their progress.

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

The manager provides the staff team with strong leadership and supports their mental health and well-being successfully. For example, staff feel valued and contribute to meticulous, detailed improvement plans for the pre-school.Staff benefit from good-quality training.

This helps them to improve their practice, such as in the promotion of supporting children with SEND. Staff develop targeted educational plans, which help to them to provide appropriate levels of support.Children confidently make decisions in their play.

They choose to select resources from toy boxes that are clearly labelled with print and pictures. This enables children to be confident to take the lead in their learning experiences.The manager uses additional funding effectively to broaden the experiences available to children.

For instance, she purchases resources that reflect children's likes and interests, such as large jungle animals to enhance their role play and develop their imaginations.Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to meet children's specific needs and interests.Parents speak highly of the pre-school staff.

They say that staff are caring and nurture their children. They praise the manager for supporting them as a family and not just the children. Parents appreciate the improved communication between the pre-school and parents with regular newsletters and home communication books.

Staff observe children's interests and provide them with a wide range of stimulating activities. For example, children enjoy exploring ice and make an ice slide for penguins. Other children engage in conversations while working together to make a tent.

However, sometimes children have to wait too long to have their questions answered and for activities to start, such as during snack times. This means that children sometimes lose focus.Children have access to an exciting outdoor area.

They enjoy their time outdoors which helps them to develop their physical skills, such as exploring funnels and tubes, and playing exciting games in tyres.Staff encourage the development of children's language and early reading skills. Children anticipate words and phrase endings to familiar stories, which they repeat with staff.

Older children enthusiastically enjoy books and make up alternative endings to favourite stories.Staff support children to acquire what they need for their next stage in learning, such as school. For example, children learn to listen, follow instructions and take turns in conversations.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and the staff team have a clear understanding of their role in safeguarding children. They are familiar with the pre-school's safeguarding procedures and policies.

The manager and the staff team attend regular training to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. They know the signs that may indicate a child is at risk and what to do if they have concerns. Thorough induction and ongoing support from the manager ensures staff remain alert to their responsibility to keep children safe.

Staff are vigilant in their supervision of children. Continual risk assessments of the play areas, inside and outside, promote 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: develop detailed and thorough methods to track children's progress over time nensure children are not waiting for long periods of time for activities to begin, so that children do not lose focus.

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