Abacus Pre School @ Stoke Gifford

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff greet children and parents warmly on arrival. This supports children to feel safe and secure. Children enter the nursery happily with big smiles on their faces, they demonstrate that they thoroughly enjoy their time at the pre-school.

Children behave well and staff skilfully support children to understand boundaries and to develop an awareness and respect for their peers. For instance, staff allow children time to try and resolve conflicts and take turns on their own but step in to support children if needed. Children demonstrate that they are starting to understand this as they take turns independently on an interactive ...whiteboard.

Children thoroughly enjoy helping to prepare snack and serve their own food at snack times. This helps to prepare children well for the next stages of learning and their eventual move on to school.Due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic parents are not able to go into the pre-school at the moment.

However, staff make time to ensure parents are kept up to date and have used a wide range of communication tools to do this.

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

Children's independence skills are nurtured well within the pre-school. Staff encourage children to 'have a go' when trying to complete tasks for themselves.

Children demonstrate their independence skills as they put on their own coats to go outside to play, and blow their own noses.Staff support children's communication and language well. For example, they use good questioning skills during free play to engage children in conversations.

Staff support children to learn new words. During a story the manager introduces new words and their meaning. For example, ventriloquist, reflection and shadow.

The manager and staff work hard to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They liaise with a range of other professionals to put plans in place to support children to reach their full potential. However, during small group work to focus on children's individual targets the noise level in the room makes it hard for children to hear and concentrate.

Staff promote consistent care routines throughout the day. They teach children good hygiene practices. For example, children know that washing their hands while singing 'happy birthday' gives them enough time to make sure their hands are clean.

The learning environment is inviting and there are lots of exciting resources that are easily accessible to children. Staff plan enjoyable activities that children are keen to take part in. However, at times group activities are not organised well and children lose interest and do not stay engaged in their learning.

The manager is passionate about providing high-quality care and education. She has high expectations for what children can achieve in this setting. Staff are supported well in their roles by the leadership team through effective supervisions.

They are encouraged to develop their knowledge and skills through regular training. Recent training focused on emotions has led to staff making resources to support children to learn and talk about their feelings.The staff team have developed close relationships with parents and put in place support for children and their families.

Parents speak highly of the pre-school. They say that staff are very supportive and help them to understand how they can extend their children's learning at home.The manager evaluates the pre-school well and continually drives improvement.

For instance, a new outdoor area connected to the pre-school means children are able to play outside more freely. Children also enjoy time to develop their large motor skills as they run smiling in a larger open space.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The manager and staff are knowledgeable about child protection issues and have a secure understanding of the correct procedure to follow if they have concerns about a child. They have a good understanding of wider safeguarding issues. The leadership team implements robust recruitment and vetting procedures, to ensure staff are suitable to work with children.

Staff are vigilant about safety and put in place a range of procedures to help keep children safe. For example, staff make sure that children wear high-visibility jackets when crossing a car park for outdoor play and encourage children to hold on to a 'walking rope'.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: help staff to consider the impact of noise levels on children's learning review how group activities are planned and organised to ensure all children are fully engaged, to extend learning opportunities further.