Stepping Stones At Elberton

Inspection of Stepping Stones At Elberton Elberton Village Hall, Elberton Road, Bristol BS35 4AB

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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The provision is outstanding

Children arrive with great enthusiasm. They are settled, happy and very confident. They thrive at the pre-school, are highly motivated to learn and make impressive progress from their individual starting points. All children have excellent relationships with the staff, who show genuine warmth and kindness to them. Staff are excellent role models and support children to develop confident social skills, independence and impeccable behaviour. The children play exceptionally well together and form strong friendships. They share and take turns. Older children make use of sand timers to encourage their younger friends to share resources.

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The provision is outstanding

Children are fully prepared to move on to school. They persevere at activities and thrive on the challenges staff set. Staff instinctively challenge children to develop their language and thinking. They skilfully introduce new words and ask pertinent questions to promote conversations. They use visual prompts and provide sensitive support to help children who find verbal communication more difficult. They also use puppets to model language and conversation. Children chat avidly about the things they observe and what they are doing and to share their ideas. Staff make excellent use of books, songs and rhymes to promote children's language and literacy skills.

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The provision is outstanding

Full of smiles, children move freely between the carefully planned, inspiring indoor and outdoor learning environments. Children relish outdoor play. They use their design ideas to create large-scale structures with different-shaped construction resources. They make low walls and traverse across them, demonstrating their balancing skills. Children create 'meals' in the mud kitchen and refer to recipe books. They have great fun with water play. They investigate the movement of water as they race to fill funnels, watch the flow of water through winding transparent pipes and gauge when to catch it in containers.

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need to do better?

n The staff are all highly enthusiastic in their roles. They work with a passion to ensure that every child has the very best learning experiences. Staff have an in- depth understanding of children's needs, interests and abilities and an excellent overview of where every child is in their learning. The exciting curriculum takes full account of what each child needs to learn next. Staff instinctively offer the encouragement and support the children need to foster their all-round learning. They seek outside professional support without delay to ensure that children receive the extra help they need to maximise their learning. Staff instinctively know when to be actively involved in children's play to extend their learning, and when to stand back and let them play freely. n Staff use every opportunity to foster children's self-esteem. Children receive high

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need to do better?

10 June 2025 praise for their achievements, and staff show genuine pride and excitement when children achieve. For example, children beam with delight as staff give them a 'high five' for counting the blocks in their tower and recognising numerals. n Staff actively develop children's mathematical awareness. They encourage children to count, do simple calculations and solve problems in fun ways. For example, staff stand at the bottom of the slide and pose questions such as 'how many fingers?' and 'what comes next?' after a given number. The children excitedly take turns to slide down and give the correct answer before rushing round to repeat the game. Children learn to estimate how far toy cars might travel and compare the size and shape of objects. They name 3D shapes confidently. Staff challenge the most able children. For example, children find and combine numerals to form higher numbers, such as 10 and above.

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need to do better?

n Management provide excellent staff support. They work highly successfully with staff to evaluate the effectiveness of the provision and to drive continuous improvement. Funding is used highly effectively to provide extra staff support and resources to enhance children's learning. For example, they provide opportunities for all children to participate in woodland learning experiences. This proves to be highly beneficial for children who previously preferred to play only indoors. Children learn to keep themselves safe while exploring the natural environment. Under the vigilant supervision of staff, children climb trees, mix 'potions', carry and build with logs, pull themselves up a mound using a rope, relax in the hammock, look for bugs and create fairy gardens. Such experiences enhance children's understanding of the world, imagination and physical agility. n Parents describe the staff as 'fantastic, friendly and highly supportive'. They

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need to do better?

state that the provision exceeds their expectations and that their children thoroughly enjoy attending. Children look forward to taking 'Crumble Bear' home to share their family adventures and add to his log book. Parents feel extremely well informed about their children's experiences and attribute their children's significant progress to the support the children receive from staff.

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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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Setting details

Unique reference number EY544677 Local authority South Gloucestershire Inspection number 10398194 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 Stepping Stones At Elberton Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 07720861736 Date of previous inspection 8 October 2019

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Information about this early years setting

Stepping Stones At Elberton re-registered in 2017. The pre-school operates from Elberton Village Hall in South Gloucestershire. It is open Monday to Friday, from 8.55am to 2.55pm, term time only. There are currently 11 members of staff who work with the children. Of these, two hold qualified teacher status, one holds a level 4 qualification, five have level 3 qualifications, two have level 2 qualifications and one staff member is unqualified. The pre-school provides government-funded childcare places and also receives specific funding for disadvantaged children.

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Inspection activities

n One of the managers joined the inspector on a learning walk of all areas of the group and discussed the early years curriculum. The inspector was also taken to see the wooded area used for 'Muddy Mondays' and 'Woodland Wednesdays'. n The inspector observed the interactions between staff and the children. She observed the quality of education being provided for all children, both indoors and outdoors. n The inspector and one of the managers evaluated the effectiveness of a group activity. n The inspector spoke to staff and the children at appropriate times during the inspection. n The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to and written testimonials. n The inspector spoke with the managers about the leadership and management of the provision. n The inspector looked at relevant documentation and reviewed evidence of the suitability of staff working in the setting.

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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

10 June 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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