Tiddlywinks Preschool @ Petts Wood

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

This is a small setting where staff are determined to give every child the best possible start in life.

Key staff know the children well and work closely with parents and carers to identify any learning difficulties or concerns, either at pre-school or at home. This helps children during their settling-in period, and enables them to feel happy and safe. The manager and her team are enthusiastic to make improvements.

They regularly review their effectiveness and value the input of parents. Although some areas of staff supervision could be more effective, recent changes in staff deployment and the overall organisation ar...e providing children with more consistency in their care. This has further strengthened the good communication with parents.

Children behave well as staff keep the rules simple. For example, children stop and listen when the bell is rung and they respond well to instructions. Children say they like coming to the pre-school and playing with their friends.

Staff display a range of resources each day to engage children's curiosity and motivate them to learn. Overall, staff plan well, including themes to raise children's awareness of important topics, such as keeping healthy. These activities provide children with opportunities to acquire knowledge and key skills in all the areas of learning in preparation for school.

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

Staff are ambitious for all children. They support children's learning well across all areas of the early years curriculum. Children learn key skills such as what is expected in their behaviour, socialising with other children and understanding the concepts of sharing and being kind.

For example, children explained that 'kind hands' and 'listening ears' helped them to make friends.Staff are determined for children to achieve well. They monitor children's learning effectively and usually plan activities that build on what children know.

However, in some instances, they do not adapt tasks to the specific abilities of individual children. For example, children showed good early mathematical skills; they could count raisins and carrots before making their 'snowman' constructions and were also able to follow a sequence to programme a floor robot to move. However, a separate exercise to assess their understanding of quantity did not fully engage all children, particularly the most able, who lost interest because the task was too easy.

Staff help children to communicate well. They talk about the stories they read and regularly sing songs and rhymes. Older children recognise their written name at registration and parents help the younger children to do so.

Children practise writing using chalks, crayons, pencils and different sizes of paintbrushes. Younger children develop good concentration and hand-to-eye skills during activities. For example, they painted cardboard cylinders, persevering until all parts were covered, and proudly displayed their creations.

Older children extended this activity, using more resources, and staff encouraged them to write their names on their work.The managers and staff work closely with parents and other agencies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff quickly identify children who need additional support and put in systems such as 'bridging the gap' to help them learn well and make the best possible progress to catch up.

Staff feel supported through supervision sessions and team meetings. They confirm that the manager is supportive of their well-being and workload. Recent reorganisation has resulted in a cohesive team spirit where staff support each other and share tasks.

Nevertheless, monitoring and evaluation are insufficiently precise to determine the further training and guidance that staff need to help them develop their teaching to the highest levels.Children's physical development is promoted well. They quickly become independent in their health care.

Children have access to ride-on toys and they regularly play outdoors. Staff rigorously risk assess their environment to ensure it is safe. Children learn some safety rules, such as not walking with scissors, and they patiently wait in a line before returning from outdoor activities.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.All staff take their responsibility for the protection and care of children very seriously. They ensure children play in a safe environment.

Staff have robust systems in place for safeguarding children. Rigorous recruitment procedures, induction and supervision ensure the suitability of staff to work with children. Staff complete regular child protection training.

They are able to recognise the potential signs and possible symptoms that indicate that children may be at risk from harm, abuse or radicalisation. Staff are confident to follow the clear procedures to promote children's welfare.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review the planning of some group activities to ensure that children of different abilities receive the appropriate level of challenge continue to improve the systems for monitoring and supporting staff's performance to focus sharply on their individual learning needs, to help them develop their professional skills to the highest levels.