Timsbury Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children choose from a vast range of challenging and interesting activities planned by staff, indoors and outdoors. For example, children play alongside each other in the pretend café, making cups of tea for adults and charging them for their services. They use their creativity skills to participate in the same storyline.

Other children use similar skills when playing with a 'loose part bugs' activity. Children can explain the life cycle of a butterfly using props. Children are enthusiastic learners and can retain information.

Children are happy and focus well on the activities they have chosen. They enjoy taking part... in a communication and language programme. They follow the rules and even repeat the rules to staff when asked.

Children listen attentively and join in when asked. For example, children can order a simple routine, such as 'getting ready for bed'. They have good listening and attention skills and behave well.

Children show that they feel safe and secure, as they happily leave their parents. They look to adults for support, when needed. Children resolve their own conflicts and understand their own emotions.

For example, when children disagree, they move away and join in with a different activity. Children support each other and comfort their friends if they are sad.

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

The manager encourages her team to plan for the individual child by following their interests.

For example, staff plan spontaneous activities that are engaging for children but also meet their next steps. This helps to ensure that children enjoy learning and continue to develop. Children achieve their next steps in learning by doing what they enjoy.

For example, an activity with a 'space' theme is used to support children's number work and their fine motor skills. Children use tweezers to pick up coloured objects and match the amount to the number. This challenges children's learning and development.

The manager and staff promote children's independence well. They encourage children to find their own name when entering the pre-school. Children are responsible for putting away their own belongings.

They put on their wellington boots and coats when going outdoors. Staff support younger children, when needed. Children prepare their own snacks.

Staff provide appropriate knives for children to cut up a range of fruit and healthy snacks. Children then choose what they would like to eat and drink from the vast range on offer.Children have a positive attitude towards their learning.

They are all engaged in their chosen activity. They are proud when staff praise them for their achievements. For example, children ask staff to watch them as they confidently ride the bikes and scooters around the garden, following the rules as they do so.

The children are well behaved, respect the rules and have good self-esteem.Staff know the children and families well. They find out about children's experiences at home and consider ways to offer opportunities they have not had before.

For example, they noticed that some children would benefit from more messy activities, so they ensure these are planned daily. Children enjoy using a range of materials and tools to make a space rocket. They are challenged to use primary colours to make another colour, mixing red and blue to make purple, for instance.

Children have great fun learning new skills and using them to create their models.Children have strong communication and language skills. There is two-way communication between the children and staff.

Staff question children to extend their knowledge, and children also question staff to deepen their understanding. Staff work effectively with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, with the help of outside agencies, when needed, to ensure that all children are developing in their learning. Staff use speech and language programmes, such as Makaton, where needed, to support children.

This helps to ensure that all children can learn new language.Staff encourage home learning, and children regularly borrow books to take home and share with their parents. Children also enjoy having stories read to them by staff, listening attentively.

However, staff have not yet found ways to successfully encourage children to access books independently within the setting. For example, at times, children show little interest in the reading area staff provide. This does not fully support them to develop a love of reading.

Staff feel supported by their manager. They interact well together and support each other. Staff have regular supervision meetings, and their well-being is considered.

Staff complete mandatory training. However, they do not always have access to planned professional development opportunities to further enhance their teaching skills and help them extend children's learning even more.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff all undergo safeguarding training. The designated safeguarding leads work together to ensure the children are always safe. The other staff are confident to approach the leads with any concerns.

They are confident to challenge any worrying behaviours and concerns. Staff can identify the different types of abuse and the signs and symptoms. Staff are also aware of other safeguarding matters, including radicalisation, and identify potential risks.

Staff risk assess areas that are used by the children, such as the local park. Staff deploy themselves well to ensure they and the children are safe.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen staff's skills in supporting children to develop a love of stories and books, to further promote their early literacy skills focus plans for staff's professional development more closely on enhancing their teaching skills to help them further support and extend children's learning.