Wigton Moor Playschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The managers and dedicated staff team are committed to their roles and responsibilities. They have high expectations for every child and implement a curriculum built on children's interests and what they need to learn next.

Staff use the information they collect through observations of children to provide exciting and stimulating experiences. This helps to extend children's learning further. All children make good progress in their learning.

Children show good attention skills as they listen carefully to stories that are familiar to them. Staff read with great enthusiasm and children become engrossed in the story. They... ask children questions to determine their level of understanding.

Children confidently say what they see, predict what might happen next and build on their vocabulary. They sing songs together and thoroughly enjoy joining in with the actions. Children are happy and settled.

An established key-person system helps children to form positive relationships and build secure attachments with staff. Polite and courteous relationships between staff help to provide a good model for children's behaviour. Children behave well and are respectful, kind and well mannered.

Children are actively and consistently praised by staff for their efforts and achievements. This results in children developing good levels of confidence and determination to succeed.

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

Parents speak highly about the quality of the playschool and are pleased with the progress that their children make.

Parents describe the staff as nurturing, warm and friendly. Staff gather information from parents about children's interests when they first start. However, they do not gather enough information about children's prior learning to help them plan more precisely for children's learning from the outset.

The playschool has good recruitment procedures in place. This helps to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. The managers provide regular supervision meetings for staff to reflect on their own practice and identify any training needs.

However, monitoring by the managers is not sufficiently robust enough to ensure that teaching is consistently of a very high quality.Staff have very good relationships with staff at the local primary schools. They meet before children leave and share pertinent information about children's achievements.

Staff from schools visit children in the playschool, which further supports the continuity in children's learning and development.Children are supported well to follow healthy lifestyles. Staff support parents to pack healthy and nutritious lunches through discussions and information provided when children start.

Children bring fruit to share with their friends, such as melon and pineapple. This encourages children to try new and different fruits.Staff support children's mathematical development effectively.

They model counting to younger children and challenge older children at rhyme time to consider how many will be left if one is taken away. Staff introduce children to shapes and encourage them to identify colours.Children enjoy daily exercise in the outside play area.

On rainy days, children squeal with delight as staff encourage them to go outside with their umbrellas and jump in the puddles. Staff help children to develop an awareness of safety in the playschool. For example, they discuss why they should walk and not run indoors.

Managers take the happiness and well-being of staff members very seriously. Staff comment on how well supported they feel. They say that they would be confident to approach managers if they had any concerns.

As a result, the playschool retains qualified and highly experienced staff who have been at the setting for a long time.Staff encourage children to be independent. For example, children pour their own drinks and serve themselves at snack time.

Children manage their own personal hygiene routines effectively and are confident to seek help if required.Staff provide a safe, warm and welcoming environment where children take responsibility for their own learning. Children develop strong relationships with key members of staff and seek them out to share experiences with.

This supports children's emotional well-being effectively.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The managers responsible for safeguarding children are well informed about safeguarding legislation and child protection issues.

All staff have recently completed training and have a very good understanding about their roles and responsibility to protect children. They are clear of the procedures to follow if they have concerns about children's welfare, including protecting children from extreme views. Staff are vigilant and ensure that children are safe in the playschool and outdoor environment.

They carry out daily checks on the environment and minimise hazards effectively. Staff are deployed successfully and this further helps to ensure that all children are supervised and kept safe.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: gather more information from parents when children first start to help plan more precisely for their learning strengthen the procedures to effectively evaluate staff's practice and identify the support needed to improve the quality of teaching to the highest level.