Sunflowers Preschool

Inspection of Sunflowers Preschool St Andrew's Church Hall, Preston Grove, Yeovil BA20 2BQ

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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

Staff provide an extremely welcoming, friendly, and nurturing environment for all children. They warmly greet children and their families on their arrival. This helps children build good relationships with all staff and helps them feel safe and secure. Children demonstrate this as they freely select resources to add to their play and ask staff for help when they need it. For example, children watch and listen as staff teach them to 'pinch, pinch, pull' to help them open packets at lunch time. Children quietly repeat this phrase and persevere to open packets for themselves.

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The provision is good

Children are developing strong early literacy skills. Older children confidently write their name on their artwork and suggest words that start with specific sounds. Younger children build their vocabulary as they join in with familiar stories and rhymes. Children are becoming confident communicators.

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The provision is good

Staff set up activities that are inviting and fun. Children spend time playing at the pretend seaside staff have created for them. They talk to their friends about what they are going to pack in their suitcase, sit in rubber rings, and take photos using old digital cameras. This encourages children's curiosity and creativity.

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need to do better?

n Leaders and managers have carefully designed a curriculum which focusses on children's personal, social, and emotional development and promotes children's language and communication skills. Staff use information from parents when children arrive at the setting to understand children's previous learning and experiences. Staff use this information to skilfully build on what children can do and know and provide motivating and challenging experiences to give children a strong foundation in learning ready for school. n Staff offer children a wide range of opportunities to help them learn about their local environment and the wider world. For instance, children regularly go for walks to the local supermarket and park. They enjoy a range of visitors coming to the setting to talk to them, including opportunities to see and touch different reptiles. This helps to develop children's understanding of the local community

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need to do better?

and provides opportunities that children may not have experienced before. n Staff's engagement and interactions with children are extremely positive and supportive. Staff enthusiastically join children's play, respond to children's requests, and answer their questions. This helps children develop positive attitudes towards their learning. However, staff do not always recognise and respond quickly enough when children become disengaged in their play. This means at times children lose focus and attention on their learning. n Parent partnerships are strong. Parents speak highly of staff. They value the regular updates staff share with them about children's progress and learning.

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need to do better?

15 May 2025 Staff hold regular parent workshops where they suggest ideas and strategies parents could use to support their children at home. Parents are invited to special events such as, a 'Mother's Day Tea Party' and 'Doughnuts for Dads Day.' These positive relationships help children's continuity of learning. n Staff effectively promote children's good health and physical exercise. For example, staff plan a wide range of experiences outdoors to develop children's physical skills. Children show they are developing good core strength as they balance on rocking wobble boards. They show they understand how to keep themselves safe in the sun as they talk about wearing sunhats and needing sunscreen before they go outside. Staff expertly teach children about eating a balanced and nutritious diet. Children knowledgeably talk about how they need lots of fruit and vegetables but should only eat small amounts of sweets.

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need to do better?

n Children benefit from staff having a firm understanding of how children learn. Staff use this and their knowledge of each individual child to plan and deliver activities that provide all children with a wide range of skills and knowledge. Staff know what children can do and understand and what they need to learn next. For example, staff teach younger children how to accurately count dots and match them to the corresponding numbers. They encourage older children to use higher numbers and teach them how to write numbers ready for school. This helps children make good mathematical progress. n Children behave well. Staff support children to learn and follow the daily routines and sensitively remind children of the boundaries they need to follow to keep themselves safe and to begin to make friendships. However, staff do not always teach children the language and skills they need to share and take turns and to

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need to do better?

solve minor disputes independently. Older children come to staff to solve disputes for them. This does not fully extend children's social development. n Leaders and managers value the staff team and ensures their well-being is a priority. Staff have regular opportunities to continually develop and improve their professional practice and knowledge. Staff share any new learning they gain from training with the whole team to have a positive impact on children. n Staff know their key children well. They build strong relationships with their key children from the start and tailor the care and learning they provide to meet each child's individual needs. These strong attachments effectively support children's emotional well-being. However, there is not a plan in place to support children when their key person is absent. When this happens, some children become a little unsettled and are unsure who to go for reassurance.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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should:

n support staff to recognise and respond swiftly when children become disengaged to help capture and maintain children's focus on learning n provide further support for older children to learn how to share and solve minor disputes independently to fully extend their social development n improve key-person arrangements to ensure that each child has an identified person to oversee their care and learning in the absence of their own key person.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2718325 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 10392471 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 20 Number of children on roll 35 Name of registered person Guy, Angela

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reference number

Telephone number 07816640476 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Sunflowers Pre-School registered in 2023. This privately owned pre-school operates from a church hall situated in Yeovil, Somerset. The pre-school is open each week on Monday to Friday from 9am until 3pm, term-time only. One member of staff holds a child-care qualification at level 5. Three members of staff hold a level 3 qualification. The setting offers government funded places.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector viewed the provision and discussed the safety and suitability of the premises with the manager. n The manager joined the inspector on a learning walk and talked to the inspector about her curriculum and what she wants children to learn. n Staff talked to the inspector throughout the inspection and discussed how the curriculum is planned and implemented and how children's progress is monitored. n The inspector spoke to parents and took their views into account. n Children talked to the inspector. n The manager carried out a joint observation with the inspector of a threading activity to support children's small muscle development. n The inspector observed interactions between staff and children throughout the inspection

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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

15 May 2025 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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