Play Place Building Blocks Pre School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children at this setting feel safe and secure.

Children separate from their parents happily and are greeted by warm and friendly staff, who know them all well. Children engage in a variety of activities and resources, which are set out with their interests in mind. For example, staff encourage children to draw a web with chalk on black paper, linking with a love of superheroes.

Staff discuss the needs and likes of the children to ensure that children are happy and progress is made. Staff plan activities to suit the needs of each child, meaning that children are motivated to engage and learn.Parents report to be very pl...eased with the setting and feel supported by staff.

Management and staff work well to ensure that communication with parents is good, making for positive relationships. This benefits the children as there is a feeling of cohesion and working together for the best outcomes.Children enjoy group time and are encouraged to listen to one another.

Good manners and self-awareness are promoted by staff. Children are encouraged to take turns and wait until their friends have finished talking without interruption. Children excitedly chatter about the weather and staff joke about what clothes are needed for outside.

Children show their understanding by correcting staff and offering suggestions.

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

Children help each other to put their coats on and show care and respect for one another. Staff remind children to be mindful of their bodies and personal space.

This helps children to learn about boundaries and consent. Children are taught to be aware of one another and are encouraged to think about the feelings of others.Staff invest in, and are inclusive to, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Staff build on existing capabilities and take steps to help the children to develop further. Staff work closely with parents to ensure that meaningful targets are agreed and can be accomplished, such as supporting children to sit at the lunch table or mix with their peers. Staff recognise little wins for the children and celebrate their achievements.

Staff lead an activity of making handprint animals. Children paint their hands and enjoy mixing the paint and making marks. Children sit attentively and are engaged and supported by staff.

Opportunities for language development are rich and recognised by staff, who introduce descriptive words, such as 'slimy' and 'bristly'. Children repeat the words and use them later in the correct context, showing that successful learning has been achieved. The attentive staff notice this and respond with praise.

Children enjoy playing with movable items, such as blocks and plastic tubes, in the garden. They build an obstacle course with blocks and encourage their friends and staff to join in. Children ride a balance bike over the blocks, showing coordination and a positive attitude to risk.

Staff motivate the children by cheering and recognising their efforts.Children discover ice during playtime outside. Their interest is noticed by staff, who encourage the children to break it up and put it in a container to see what it does inside.

Staff show children how to use the ice to make a trail on the floor. However, children did not have sufficient time to think and explore on their own or at their own pace. Sometimes, activities are overly adult led and children lose opportunities for independent learning.

The manager has a clear ethos of building positive relationships to enable children to be confident and sociable. This is readily seen in the setting. Good communication and sensitivity are modelled by management and cascaded to staff, children, and families.

Staff and management work well with local services and each other to enable children to achieve and flourish.Children show care and attention by wrapping bandages around the head of a teddy bear. They play together, offer soothing words and remind the toys to wait their turn.

Children use the contents of a first-aid box to help to tend to the toys. A stethoscope is then carefully wrapped up and put back into the box for safe keeping. Staff notice the game and join in, pretending to be patients.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nallow children to follow their fascinations and interests at their own pace.