Hardwick and Arden Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy when they arrive at pre-school. They have adapted well to the changes made, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Children understand that their parents no longer come into the pre-school. They are confident to separate from their parents and are greeted by warm and friendly staff. Children show they feel completely safe and secure.

Children behave well and learn to share and take turns with their friends. They respond positively to staff's gentle reminders, that help them to understand what is expected of them.Children build strong relationships with staff and their peers.

Younger children are give...n prompt reassurance when they are unsure about visitors. They receive cuddles from familiar staff, who sing their favourite songs and read their favourite stories, helping them settle quickly back into their play.Children develop a love of reading.

Staff read stories with enthusiasm and children join in with excitement. As well as planned storytelling, children ask staff to read to them, share books with their friends and look at them independently. As a result of this and good quality staff interactions, children use vocabulary well.

Children enjoy having the freedom to choose what they want to play with and if they want to be inside or outside. They play independently together, sharing toys exceptionally well. During group time, staff encourage children to speak out in a group to choose their favourite song.

Children wait patiently for their turn, excited to share the song and join in enthusiastically.

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

The manager and staff have worked hard to maintain a strong relationship with families despite the COVID-19 pandemic. However, occasionally, staff do not share or gather enough information from parents to ensure that children make the best possible progress.

For example, staff encourage parents to continue to collect and drop off children at the door. Some parents comment that this face-to-face feedback is brief and they are unsure of how they can support their children at home.The provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is a strength in the pre-school.

The special educational needs coordinator is committed to ensuring that all children can access and benefit from the curriculum. This enables the pre-school to ensure that children with SEND get off to a good start.The manager is passionate and has an ambitious vision for the pre-school.

She has clear and high expectations for children to achieve and will regularly share this with her team. Managers support staff to share and implement their own ideas. For example, the staff team have recently improved the natural outside space, using logs and tree stumps to develop children's understanding of minibeasts and, how things change over time.

They have great fun negotiating wooden steppingstones and digging in the sand pit.Children learn about mathematics through imaginative games and resources. For example, they use a large parachute to bounce teddies up and down.

They count the teddies as one is added each time and compare the sizes, for instance, identifying 'big Ted' and 'little Ted'. Children look and listen intently and concentrate well as they count Staff develop children's understanding of hygiene practices well through daily routines, such as washing their hands after messy play and before eating snacks and meals. However, staff do not use these times to give children clear messages about making healthy choices, to support them to understand the importance of following a healthy diet.

The curriculum fosters all seven areas of learning and children learn well across each area, indoors and outdoors. Staff find out what children already know and can do and use their own observations to find out what children already know and can do. For example, children's interest in a well-known story is expanded to ignite their imagination across all learning areas.

Staff expertly weave children's mathematical knowledge into play as they count buns they make for the tiger, comparing size, shape and quantity. Children learn about biggest and smallest, shortest and longest and learn new words, such as 'humungous' and 'enormous'.All staff have received training and demonstrate how this is helping them to improve experiences for children.

They receive regular one-to-one meetings with the manager, which helps to identify any training and coaching needs. Staff say that they feel well supported by leaders to understand and fulfil their roles. They add that they enjoy their work with children.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and staff have a clear understanding of how to safeguard children. They know the signs that raise concerns about children's welfare and when to make referrals to safeguarding agencies.

The manager provides staff with training regarding safeguarding. She asks staff questions regularly to test their knowledge. Staff are clear on safeguarding procedures, for example what to do if a child arrives with an injury, and who to contact if they have concerns.

The manager puts in place clear procedures for risk assessments, which staff understand. They identify any risks and put in place appropriate measures 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: nextend partnerships with parents and share even more information, such as children's next steps in learning, to raise their learning and development to an even higher level develop further ways to support children to gain a better understanding of the importance of making healthy eating choices.

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