Dolphins Pre School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

The highly qualified, experienced and inspirational managers lead their passionate and dedicated staff team remarkably well. Together, they provide an exceptionally well-planned environment, with a highly impressive range of resources and activities available at all times. Children have limitless opportunities to explore, investigate and experience new things.

For example, they take part in scientific experiments, learning about challenging concepts, such as expansion and contraction. Children make predictions, test out their ideas and learn complex new vocabulary as they explore the effects of ice, water and air in ball...oons. All children are extremely confident, inquisitive and motivated to learn.

They delight in attempting new challenges and are highly eager to 'give things a go'. Children rapidly gain the skills needed to be fully prepared for school, when the time comes.All staff are exceptionally supportive and attentive to every child's needs.

They get to know children inside-out and build loving and trusting bonds with them. Their highly nurturing approach helps children to feel exceedingly happy, safe and secure. Staff cherish children's individual personalities and uniqueness and, in turn, children become incredibly self-assured and have great faith in their own abilities.

Staff focus heavily on outdoor play and children have continuous opportunities to lead their own experiences, moving freely between the exciting indoor and outdoor environment.

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

The highly dedicated managers and staff team create a dynamic, diverse and ambitious curriculum. They fully ignite children's sense of awe and fascination of the world and maximise all opportunities for learning.

Children benefit from inspiring experiences, such as growing and harvesting a huge range of fruit and vegetables throughout the year. They eagerly try new food, such as their pre-school-grown spinach, and proudly take home the produce of their hard work to share with their families.The managers are truly inspirational leaders.

Their enthusiasm and commitment for improvement is reflected in all aspects of the setting. With staff, they meticulously reflect on practices, offer expert coaching and continuously improve experiences for all children. As a team, they have recently focused on encouraging children and families to walk to pre-school to further promote exercise, healthy lifestyles and road safety.

Children very confidently demonstrate their knowledge, as they carefully use the zebra crossing to cross the racing track in the garden.The quality of teaching is exemplary. The managers and staff have an in-depth understanding of the progression of learning.

They sequence children's experiences extremely skilfully to enable children to continuously build on what they know and can do. For example, younger children learn to identify sounds as they clap out the syllables of words. Older children then trace letters with their fingers in sand, begin to write their name and blend sounds together to read simple words.

There is a strong focus on incorporating music into children's experiences in enjoyable and innovative ways. Staff extremely skilfully integrate all areas of learning into a meticulously designed library of songs. Children sing with incredible confidence and join in enthusiastically with a huge range of songs, for example, as staff play classical music on the pre-school piano, or play reggae, pop music or nursery rhymes.

Children show an excellent ability to learn and remember lyrics, understand rhythm and rhyme, and join in with actions. During the inspection, they eagerly practised an array of new songs they are learning for the upcoming Christmas performance. They showed highly impressive concentration, motivation and vocabulary.

Staff are tremendous role models and children behave impeccably. They are consistently kind, thoughtful and respectful of all others and show great care and consideration for their friends. For example, when a younger child wanted to be a pilot in the role-play airport, older children eagerly helped them to find 'passengers' and start their journey.

Children also learn to use the 'buddy bench' and how to notice when others may be feeling lonely or need some support. They actively look to include others in their play and show wonderful social skills, friendships and kindness.Staff provide parents with extensive support.

They consistently share detailed information about children's learning and value all parent contributions highly. Parents are completely involved and engaged in their children's learning and are successfully supported to continue to develop children's learning at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding is at the heart of the pre-school's procedures and children's welfare is given high priority. The managers and staff have a thorough understanding of how to keep children safe. Recruitment procedures are robust and the managers ensure all staff are suitable for their roles, including on an ongoing basis.

Staff receive extensive training to help them know when children might be at risk of harm, including discussing potential scenarios. They fully understand how to identify child protection concerns and how to report concerns. The environment is extremely safe.

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