Priory Pre-School, Norton

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents

This provision is good • The experienced and stable staff show a passion for childcare. They understand their roles and responsibilities, which helps to aid the smooth running of the pre-school. For example, the staff member responsible for health and safety reflects on any incidents children have.

This enables children to explore their understanding of risk through activities in a safe environment. • Staff provide children with explanations to improve their learning. Children learn how ice melts as it becomes warm and that heavier objects sink in water.

They know that colours change as they mix different paints together. • The key-person system is managed well to help s...taff build secure attachments with children and engage parents in children's learning from the very outset. For example, key staff visit children and their parents in their home.

This helps them to gain a broad insight into each child's daily experiences and begin to assess their level of development before they start at the pre-school. • Children enjoy their time at the pre-school and know that staff are there with cuddles and reassurance as they need. This helps children to feel emotionally secure.

• Parents are very happy with the care provided and feel their requests are always listened to and considered. For example, the pre-school now offer an early drop-off facility to alleviate the pressure on parents who need to take older siblings to school. • Plans to enhance staff practice even further have not been fully implemented so their effectiveness cannot be evaluated accurately.

• Staff do not always organise planned activities well enough to minimise nearby distractions and help maintain children's focus.

information about the activities children take part in. The provider and pre-school leader

oversee staff practice to help maintain the good-quality teaching.

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff vigilantly supervise children at all times and ensure all entrance points from the shared premises into the main pre-school area remain secure. They regularly refresh their knowledge of child protection issues and take appropriate action to address any concerns that they have.

This promotes children's welfare. Staff monitor children's overall progress and identify aspects of learning where children may need additional support. The current focus is to further enhance young children's speech and language skills and adopt strategies learnt at previous training.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good Staff use effective methods of observation and assessment. They share pertinent information with other staff to help promote consistency in children's learning. This ensures that all those working with children are knowledgeable about the skills children need to develop next.

Staff draw on this knowledge and take account of children's current interests to provide a wide range of challenging activities. Children use their imagination as they engage in role play. They pretend an outdoor playhouse is an ice-cream parlour thrilled when staff join in and request their favourite flavour.

Children shape and mould soft dough into a muffin tin and decorate with glitter to bake their pretend cakes. They explore musical instruments to learn how sounds can be changed. Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good Children respond well to boundaries with support and encouragement from staff.

They learn to be kind and take turns with other children. Staff organise activities to teach children about people in the wider world. For example, staff and children held a cake sale to raise money for charity.

Staff use various ways to help children manage their own personal needs. They provide regular reminders for young children to use the toilet and encourage them to wash and dry their hands by themselves. Staff provide children with regular opportunities to learn outdoors.

For instance, on a recent walk to the nearby common, children took the remains of their pumpkins from Halloween to feed to the local wildlife. Staff encourage children to help sweep up the leaves as they discuss how the colours change through the different seasons. Outcomes for children are good All children, including those in receipt of funding, make good progress from their starting point.

Gaps in attainment between different groups of children are closing. Children show they are motivated to learn. They demonstrate good levels of initiative and independence as they work out how to solve problems.

Children show pencil control as they make marks on paper. They know the language of size, eager to use their bodies to demonstrate small and big. Children gain some of the essential skills that they require for the next stage in their learning.