A PRE-SCHOOL in Winterbourne has been praised for the “wonderfully inspiring opportunities” it provides for children to learn outdoors.
Ofsted visited Winterbourne Early Years Centre’s Rainbow Bears pre-school at St Michael’s Primary School in July.
The education regulator said the pre-school, which has 29 children aged three and four on its roll, is ‘good’ in all areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and personal development.
Inspector Rachel Howell highlighted the learning that takes place outdoors.
She said: “The centre provides children with wonderfully inspiring opportunities to be active outside and explore the natural world.
“Staff skilfully teach children to learn to manage risks and keep themselves safe.
“Staff encourage children to think, consider their approach and adapt their actions as needed.
“They are proud of their achievements and develop their physical skills, independence and sense of responsibility very effectively.”
‘High expectations’ for children
Above, top and below: Rainbow Bears children learning outdoors.
The inspector also praised way the six members of staff work together to form the curriculum with a choice of activities, adapting them to inspire each child.
She said: “Staff have high expectations for children’s capabilities.
“They thoughtfully link to children’s preferred interests and ways of learning. Children are inspired by the rich range of experiences on offer.”
The inspector said children form strong relationships with staff, who support them and ask them questions to encourage their thinking and conversation.
Staff “show dedication to the children and families”, sharing information and supporting home learning, and parents are “very positive” about the support, the inspector said.
Manager is ‘so proud’ of report
Winterbourne Early Years Centre has been running as a charitable preschool for nearly 60 years.
As well as the Rainbow Bears room at St Michael’s, in Linden Close, it has a larger base in two rooms at the Greenfield Centre, next to Elm Park Primary School.
Centre manager Lisa O’Sullivan said: “We are so proud of the outcome from our recent Ofsted report. The inspector really recognised our passion as a centre for allowing children to be independent and confident learners.
“We pride ourselves in allowing children to be free in their play when exploring their surroundings in a safe, educational setting, and feel this was reflected throughout the inspection.
“Rainbow Bears is a small committee-run, charity-led preschool which has a fantastic team of professionals, who all share the same ethos when providing the daily experiences for their children.
“Our days are mostly filled with the choices of being indoors or outdoors, whether in the forest, exploring a range of resources or within the community and learning through each experience in a child-led manner.”