The Good Start

Inspection of The Good Start The Street, Poynings, Brighton, West Sussex BN45 7AQ

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not applicable

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The provision is good

Children love spending time at the stimulating pre-school and form excellent bonds with the wonderfully nurturing staff. They leave their parents confidently at the door and eagerly engage in the wide range of activities on offer. For example, children enjoy painting, making sandcastles and creating with play dough. Children develop strong self-esteem, good motivation and take pride in their achievements. For example, they celebrated together after successfully making the 'longest train track ever', using great teamwork.

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The provision is good

The manager and staff have high expectations for what all children can achieve. They plan carefully for children's learning and are quick to spot any gaps that need closing. For example, due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, they have focused more on children's independence, confidence and emotional well-being. As a result, children feel particularly happy, safe and secure. They explore the pre- school with great confidence and eagerly discuss their views, ideas and home lives. Staff treat each child as an individual and children feel valued.

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The provision is good

Staff support children's learning very well and use their interactions skilfully to offer further challenge. For instance, as children filled up their toy trains with 'diesel', staff challenged them to count how many seconds they use the pump for. Children excitedly counted to 10 and said '10 seconds should be enough'.

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need to do better?

n The ambitious manager and staff provide a broad and challenging curriculum for all children. They skilfully build on what children already know and can do and focus well on preparing children for school. For example, older children can recognise and write their name, dress themselves for the garden and have a good understanding of mathematics. Children are eager and inquisitive learners and quickly gain the knowledge and skills they need for their future education. n Children benefit from an exciting range of experiences to learn about nature. For example, they delight in 'forest school' sessions in the large and adventurous garden. They discover and investigate plants and wildlife and learn about safety and risks as they cook marshmallows on campfires. Children are very physically active and get plenty of exercise. They show good physical development and control as they eat with cutlery, join train track pieces together and use ride-on

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need to do better?

vehicles outdoors. n The passionate manager is very well supported by her dedicated deputy manager and staff. There is high staff morale and a positive atmosphere in the pre-school. Together, the team reflect closely on how well they meet the needs of the children and where they can make further improvements. For example, although they use stories and toys to teach children about diversity, they

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need to do better?

22 June 2021 understand there is room to develop this. Staff do not yet provide a broad set of experiences to fully deepen children's understanding of people, cultures and communities that are different to their own. n The manager and staff assess children's development closely and plan successfully for their next steps in learning. They provide a varied environment which helps children to engage busily in their play and learning. For example, children made 'pizzas' by collecting natural objects from the garden and sticking them to their cardboard plates. Staff supported children very well and encouraged them to name and describe what they found. Children enjoyed working out what the different leaves and flowers were and described them as 'smooth', 'bumpy' and 'wild'. n Overall, staff support children's language development well. They use stories successfully to ignite children's interest in books, introduce new words and teach

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need to do better?

new ideas. For example, staff read books that challenge gender stereotypes and support children to be confident in who they are. Staff encourage lots of conversation with children and ask plenty of interesting and thought provoking questions. However, on occasion some staff speak too quickly when talking to the youngest children. They miss opportunities to repeat their speech and model language clearly to support their early language development even further. n Parents are very appreciative of the high levels of support their children receive. They comment how the manager and staff 'go above and beyond' to ensure children achieve. Parents are particularly pleased with the children's developing social skills, behaviour and the 'lovely friendships' they make.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The manager and staff attend safeguarding training and confidently know the possible signs and symptoms of abuse. They know what to do should they become worried about a child or family and understand how to pass on any such concerns. The manager, who is the designated safeguarding lead, understands wider safeguarding issues, such as the 'Prevent' duty, and ensures all staff have up-to- date knowledge. There are vigilant procedures in place for the safe recruitment of staff and staff fully understand their responsibility to protect children.

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should:

n provide more consistent support for two year old children, to further support their good early language development n give children further opportunities to learn about people, cultures and communities who are different to their own.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY555916 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 10174751 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Sessional day care

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inspection

Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 18 Name of registered person O'Neill, Michelle Ann

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reference number

Telephone number 01273 857 411 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

The Good Start registered in 2018. It operates in Poynings, West Sussex. The pre- school opens each weekday from 8.30am to 3.30pm, during term time. There are four members of staff, who all hold an appropriate early years qualification between early years teacher status and level 3. The pre-school is in receipt of funding to provide free education to children aged two, three and four years.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the provider received since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The inspector was given a tour of the pre-school by the manager and carried out a learning walk to discuss the curriculum. n The manager and the inspector discussed the play activities and children's learning during the inspection and undertook a joint observation of an activity. n The views and opinions of the children, staff and parents were taken into account during the inspection. n The inspector observed children's play and assessed the impact of staff teaching.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

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Inspection activities

22 June 2021 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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