Burlington Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children happily separate from their parents. They have fun from the moment they arrive at the pre-school. Children engage in an activity of their choosing with ease and are highly active.

They make good friendships and relationships. For instance, children relish in a game of hide and seek outdoors and invite others to join in. All children, including those who speak English as an additional language, learn to communicate well.

Staff use one-to-one sessions very effectively to enhance children's speaking skills. This helps children to build on their vocabulary. Children's language skills are good.

For example..., when children make 'potions', they name the colours they have made and say that the potion is 'transforming'. Children look for minibeasts, using magnifying glasses, and name the creatures. They use good vocabulary, which helps to prepare them with many of the skills they need for their next stages of learning.

Children's behaviour is good. Staff encourage and support children with clear and consistent expectations. They encourage children to say 'please' and 'thank you'.

Children learn to be independent. At snack time, staff encourage children to pour their own milk or water into their cups. Children choose fruit or crackers, using tongs comfortably.

Children play in a safe environment.

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

Children eagerly explore the wide range of activities inside and outside. They make 'cupcakes' with play dough and recognise numbers.

Children push small wobbly eyes into soft modelling clay and count these skilfully. This promotes their communication and their mathematical and physical skills effectively.Staff ask children questions to help further extend their thinking and understanding.

However, sometimes, staff plan group activities which involve large numbers of children. As a result, staff find it too difficult to maintain all children's focus on the activity that is taking place.Children enjoy books and repeat familiar endings in the story.

Staff are skilled at capturing children's interest in stories, using props and activities well. However, occasionally, staff do not think about how some children's learning is disrupted. For example, when children listen to a story, they are disturbed by other staff in the room.

This means that children lose concentration and are not consistently challenged at the highest level.Children show good physical development. For example, they climb equipment outside and ride bikes along a chalk line which their friends make.

Children demonstrate good fine motor skills. For example, they use scissors, tweezers, tongs and pipettes competently. Children make marks with paint and chalk.

Children behave well. They show good levels of cooperation with each other and staff. Children know the routines well.

They help to tidy away the toys and follow staff's instructions. For example, children form a line with ease and copy body movements, such as hands to shoulders. This supports children's listening and understanding skills.

The manager is committed to improving the pre-school. She knows what the pre-school does well and what she would like to develop next, such as further extending staff's teaching skills. Staff receive regular supervision sessions and access regular training opportunities.

They place children's emotional well-being at the heart of their practice. They help children to develop strong relationships with staff and other children.Partnerships with parents are good.

Parents know who their child's key person is. Staff have maintained close links with parents and children throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. They provide a warm welcome, even though parents do not come into the pre-school as they used to.

Staff gather information about children's abilities when they first start. They regularly review children's progress with parents, using a variety of methods.Staff have good links with the host school.

As children prepare to move on to school, the two settings work closely together to ensure a successful transition. Staff support children with additional needs well. They work closely with other agencies to further support children and their families.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff have a good awareness of safeguarding. They understand how to identify the signs and symptoms of abuse.

There are clear policies in place to support staff to report their concerns about children's welfare or the behaviours of adults. Staff know who they can talk to about their concerns. The manager uses a thorough process for recruiting and checking staff's suitability.

She uses induction and ongoing supervision sessions to ensure that all staff continue to be suitable. Staff carry out effective risk assessments to keep children safe.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: plan group activities to help all children to focus and concentrate more consistently on their learning support staff to sequence and challenge all children's learning during activities.

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