The Secret Garden Pre-School (Attenborough)

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

There is a buzz of excitement as children confidently move around their playroom choosing their play. Children demonstrate they feel safe and secure. They eagerly explore the wide range of exciting opportunities, which help them make good progress in their learning.

Children relish playing outside and develop a sense of wonder. They squirt squeezy bottles, paint on large pieces of paper, make potions and stir 'witch's soup'. This ignites children's imagination and also helps to develop their small-muscle skills in readiness for early writing.

Children build good relationships with staff and each other. They have positi...ve attitudes and behave well. For example, children wait patiently for their turn to play hopscotch.

They smile and laugh, and they benefit from the praise staff give them. This helps children to develop their self-esteem and encourages them to have another go.Children are developing good skills for their future.

They concentrate and listen attentively during group activities. This is evident as they enthusiastically play games such as 'walk the plank'. Here children learn to recognise letter sounds and pronounce them correctly, and staff extend this to support children to blend the sounds together.

Children move a toy pirate along the plank every time they say a letter sound correctly. They scream with delight as the pirate falls into the water, showing their enjoyment of the activity.

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

The management team is strong and reflective.

Managers provide a curriculum that takes into consideration children's individual needs. Children access a varied and rich curriculum, which builds on their interests and what they already know and can do. Staff let children take the lead in their learning and plan activities to help children achieve their next steps.

Staff put time and effort into ensuring that all the children are nurtured. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language effectively to help them make good progress. The special educational needs coordinator does their best to secure additional support and funding for these children.

Staff support children's communication and language development well. They talk face to face with children, making eye contact. They ask relevant questions and introduce them to new words, such as 'absorb', 'soak' and 'nectar' as they talk about the bees in the garden.

Staff interact with children in positive ways overall and join in with their play. However, some staff miss opportunities to extend children's learning so that they can develop their thinking and knowledge. For example, children find a snail among the flowers.

Staff start a conversation about the snail's shell. They do not extend the conversation to talk in more depth, for example, about what snails eat or how they move.Staff are not deployed effectively to support children as the routine changes.

For example, at lunchtime, children sit around for long periods and become distracted and unsettled.Partnership with parents is a strength. Parents state that they feel staff are approachable and they receive a variety of information about their children's day and progress.

For instance, they constantly talk to their child's key person and receive emails regarding any changes to the pre-school routine.Staff find out information about children from their parents when they first start attending the pre-school. They enquire about the experiences children have at home and extend these to aid future learning.

For example, children have the opportunity to have tennis lessons to help develop and extend their physical skills. They also go for walks to the local nature reserve.Staff promote positive behaviour and care practices are good.

Children eat a variety of healthy foods. Staff follow hygiene practices consistently to promote children's good health. The management team intends for children to become independent and self-motivated.

Staff encourage children to do things they are capable of, for example putting on their shoes, going to the bathroom themselves and helping to tidy toys away.Staff take part in regular training to support their professional development. For example, they recently attended a course to help develop children's awareness of their senses.

Staff learned how to use sensory resources to help children relax and increase their concentration levels.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Managers and staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities to report concerns about a child's welfare.

They know the procedure to follow if an allegation is made about a colleague. They complete regular safeguarding training, including the 'Prevent' duty. The management team implements a robust recruitment, induction and supervision process to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children.

Staff vigilantly carry out risk assessments to ensure that risks to children are minimised. For example, they are mindful to ensure the children walk carefully and safely on the path to their tennis session.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: develop staff's interactions with children so that they utilise all opportunities to extend children's thinking skills and deepen their knowledge review the deployment of staff during changes in routine, to minimise the time children sit without being occupied, particularly during lunchtime.