Wool Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive happily at pre-school where warm, friendly staff greet them. Children demonstrate good levels of motivation and quickly select an activity that interests them. They are active and benefit from plenty of fresh air and exercise.

They ably cycle on trikes, run, jump and hop. Children learn to be independent in preparation for school. For example, they put on their own shoes and coats and serve their own drinks and snacks.

Children behave well and follow the rules and routines of the pre-school. Staff praise children for their efforts, which builds their self-esteem. When minor disagreements do occur, staff... deal with these effectively.

Children are safe and secure.Children enjoy role play, which develops their imagination and social skills. For example, they make a train by lining up chairs and announce, 'Anybody want to come on my train?' Children play cooperatively and take turns.

They make 'tea' in teapots and pour it into cups for their friends. Children are resilient and focus intently for long periods of time. For example, they carefully build a 'house' with sand and bricks.

When it falls over, they say 'never mind', and build it again. Staff work very closely as a team to ensure that all children make good progress, with an emphasis on building their social skills, confidence and independence.

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

Managers and staff provide a broad and well-balanced curriculum, with a focus on preparing children for school.

Activities are carefully planned to help children reach their next steps and nurture their interests. This ensures that children are motivated to learn and make good progress.An effective system of assessment ensures that any gaps in learning are quickly identified and steps put in place to close them.

If a child is not making the expected progress, staff involve parents and other professionals in a timely and appropriate way to ensure that children get the support they need.Staff actively promote children's communication and language skills. They provide a running commentary as children play, which helps to give meaning to what they are doing.

They repeat children's speech to support them to pronounce words correctly and add new vocabulary. For example, they talk to children about colours being 'light' or 'dark'.Staff expertly weave the teaching of mathematics into their interactions with children.

They encourage children to count, compare sizes and recognise shapes. This helps them to learn simple mathematics vocabulary in preparation for school.A well-established key person system ensures that children develop strong attachments with staff.

Each child also has a 'buddy' key person, to ensure that they remain settled should their main member of staff be absent. Building these bonds promotes children's well-being and helps them feel secure.Staff work closely with parents to find out about children and their families.

However, they do not always use this information to support children who speak English as an additional language to celebrate their home languages and cultural differences to help them feel valued.Staff read stories with enthusiasm and children enjoy looking at books independently and sharing them with their peers. They re-enact stories, which stimulates their imagination and helps them to learn about the world around them.

Staff encourage children to learn and sing familiar songs to develop their creativity and literacy skills. However, during whole-group activities, the space is not well organised and children cannot see most of the staff who are demonstrating the movements. Some children lose interest and focus as a result.

The manager has good systems in place to monitor staff practice. They receive regular supervisions and peer observations to develop and share good practice. Staff undertake planned training courses regularly to ensure they are able to fulfil their roles and responsibilities.

Parents are happy with the care and education their children receive. They comment how they are well informed about their children's progress and that staff are approachable, kind and caring.During the COVID-19 pandemic, the pre-school took effective steps to prevent the spread of infection.

Some changes still remain in place. For example, parents drop children off at the door, which staff say helps them settle more quickly.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have a good understanding of the signs that might indicate a child is at risk of abuse. They are aware of their responsibilities to report any concerns they might have about a child's well-being and know the procedures to follow. The designated safeguarding lead works closely with external agencies to keep children safe from harm.

Effective risk assessments help to ensure that the setting is safe. Accidents are closely monitored to highlight any patterns and swift action taken to minimise risks.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: provide children with more opportunities to celebrate and share their home languages and cultural traditions to help them feel valued nimprove the organisation of whole-group activities to ensure that all children are able to fully engage with the learning.