The Villages Pre-School Ltd Eldwick

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

The highly qualified pre-school owner has high expectations for children and staff. She is an inspirational leader and ambassador of high-quality childcare within the pre-school and beyond.

She has collaborated with others to write blogs for parents and been involved in early years panels. Staff have a wealth of qualifications, experience, skills and knowledge, which is continually built on. They demonstrate first-class teaching and professionalism.

They plan an awe-inspiring, precisely tailored curriculum and reflect children's experiences all around the pre-school.Children learn through captivating first-hand ...experiences and the limitless resources and activities set out in the safe, highly stimulating and accessible learning environment. They gain a remarkable wealth of knowledge and skills for future learning and make rapid progress.

Children excitedly and happily enter the pre-school. They show fascination, deep concentration and engagement during activities such as making pizzas, writing letters to Santa and preparing vegetables to feed their pet guinea pig. Older children excitedly chat while collaboratively making pizzas.

Staff ask probing questions that encourage children to think critically. Children have formed wonderful friendships and secure attachments with staff. Staff are excellent role models.

This successfully supports children's exemplary behaviour and respect for difference. Children self-regulate, for instance by using timers to take turns, and learn about feelings through stories, props and home-made resources.

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

Staff meticulously plan for children.

They diligently monitor the curriculum, children's progress, gaps and areas where development is delayed. This leads to unique early interventions, such as 'nurturing and development' logs and targeted groups. Staff also purchase resources, plan innovative activities, adapt the environment and attend further training.

Consequently, gaps in children's learning are quickly closed.Children have excellent opportunities to investigate. For example, they carry out experiments in the curiosity cube around growth and decay using fruit and flowers.

Staff accelerate children's learning with enthralling first-hand experiences. For instance, children encounter exotic creatures during interactive workshops. They show awe and wonder while investigating the new pet African snails, noting the patterns on the shells with staff.

Children recall the life cycle of the chick, reflected in the photograph display, with great memory, using words such as 'incubator' and 'brooding box'.Children develop excellent physical skills while using chopsticks and tweezers, chopping up vegetables and manipulating dough during a fun song. Boys become engrossed in a game of rhyming rocket that greatly supports their early language and literacy skills.

Staff place clipboards and fiction and non-fiction books all around the pre-school, deliver Bookstart programmes and read enthralling stories. Each child takes stories home in their special book bag.Staff uniquely incorporate early mathematics.

They teach children that time can be measured in various ways, for example with a clock, digital device and sand timer.Children learn about being unique in wonderful ways. For example, staff display photographs of the children, themselves and others from around the world, share their home language and provide story sacks related to different festivals.

Parents and children learn about diversity together, for instance by taking packs home that provide a wealth of information about different countries.Children learn to be respectful and model citizens. For example, they recycle items and contribute to charities abroad and locally, such as a food bank event.

Children plant poppies, make poppy wreaths and listen to stories during a visit from a war hero.Children develop strong emotional well-being. Staff encourage parents to attend the stay-and-play group and take home a staff photograph booklet to share before children start at the pre-school.

Staff promote healthy living superbly. Children freely access outdoors, engage in weekly rugby sessions, grow vegetables and learn about germs during interactive workshops. Children talk about why their pizzas are healthy.

There is an excellent exchange of information between parents and staff. Parents are inspired to support learning. They attend courses, accompany children on magical outings and borrow an exemplary range of resource packs.

Performance management, training and support for staff are highly effective. Self-evaluation tools and improvement plans are exhaustive. Parents positively share their views through the use of questionnaires and personal consultations.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The pre-school owner has rigorous systems for ensuring staff's suitability and for informing visitors about the stringent safety and safeguarding policies and procedures. Staff have a very secure understanding of the indicators of abuse and how to report concerns.

Alongside regular training, their knowledge is reinforced through safeguarding quizzes and scenarios. Staff undertake meticulous risk assessments, including where children have a specific development or health need. Staff make excellent use of their website, newsletters and other information sources to share essential information with parents about issues such as online safety, safety in the home and car seat safety.