Uffculme Pre-School & Out of Hours Care

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children and parents receive a warm welcome as they arrive at the setting. Staff are friendly and enthusiastic as they greet them. Children confidently say goodbye to their parents.

They settle quickly as they make choices in their learning. Children explore their creativity as they engage in imaginary play. They press pieces of paper into a tray to form a cake case.

They carefully fill them with coloured rice and put them in the play oven to bake cakes for their friends.Staff have high expectations for all children. They provide a stimulating environment that captivates children's interests, both indoors and outdoors....

For example, children are developing a love of nature and wildlife. They use spades to hunt for worms outside. Children find a worm in the soil, causing great excitement.

Staff respond quickly, collecting the worm in their hand. Children watch eagerly with curiosity as they observe the worm. Staff introduce positional language, such as 'over' and 'under', as they describe how the worm moves.

Children's behaviour is excellent. They listen and follow instructions very well. Staff use a sand timer to encourage children to help tidy up.

Children respond instantly to help each other. They put toys and equipment away before the sand timer runs out. Once the setting is tidy, staff praise the children and reward them with stickers.

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

Staff support children to live a healthy, active lifestyle. For example, staff skilfully engage children in exercise during a dancing activity. Children jump, shake and stretch their bodies to the actions of the song.

When the music ends staff encourage children to place their hands on their chests to feel their hearts beating. Staff explain to the children that when they exercise, their heart beats faster. Children are beginning to learn about the effect that exercise has on their bodies.

This supports children's further understanding of physical development.Staff know the children well and they regularly observe and assess children's progress. Children have opportunities to engage in meaningful play and learning experiences.

As a whole, all children are making good progress from their starting points. Staff plan activities for the children; however, they do not consider children's next steps or the learning intentions of the activities clearly enough.Children use excellent manners.

Children say 'please' and 'thank you' to staff and their friends. Staff support children to form positive relationships with each other. During playtimes, staff use sand timers to encourage children to share and take turns with toys.

Children are developing positive social skills effectively.Staff challenge older children's thinking skills well. Overall, children make good progress with their communication and language development.

For example, at story time, staff engage older children in conversations. Staff ask children what they think is happening as they point to the pages of the book. Older children respond quickly with their ideas.

This promotes their attention skills and further develops their vocabulary. However, staff do not always support younger children to take part in discussions to help them make the best possible progress in this area.Children have excellent opportunities to develop their early mark-making skills.

They explore sand in individual trays at the table. Children use tools, such as thin paintbrushes, to form the letters of their name in the sand. They excitedly lift the tray up to shake the sand flat again to have another go.

Children show a positive attitude to learning. This promotes their literacy skills effectively.The manager and the staff share a strong team approach within the setting.

They work collaboratively together to evaluate the learning environments. The manager has an ambitious vision for the future of the setting. Her dedication is to providing high-quality childcare for children and their families.

Staff express that they receive good support from the manager. They have access to regular training opportunities. This enables them to keep their knowledge and skills up to date.

Partnerships with parents are good. Parents talk very highly of the setting. They say that children have grown in confidence during their time in the setting.

Parents report that staff are 'fantastic', they are 'approachable and kind', and that they make learning fun for children. Parents feel well supported and they receive regular updates on their child's learning and progress.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff regularly update their safeguarding knowledge. They are alert to the signs and symptoms that may indicate that a child is at risk of harm. Staff have a secure understanding of child protection issues.

They understand their responsibilities to safeguard children, which includes being aware of whistle-blowing. The manager ensures that staff know the setting's policies and procedures. The staff know what to do should they have concerns about a child's welfare.

The manager has robust recruitment procedures in place. She completes ongoing checks to ensure that staff remain suitable to work with children. Staff regularly check the premises.

They remove any potential hazards within the learning environment. This ensures that children are always kept safe.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to plan more precisely for children's individual next steps, to further enhance and broaden their learning nenhance staff practice to support younger children to develop their communication and language skills further.

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