Alpha Pre School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children arrive happy. Staff welcome them and their parents and help children to hang up their coat and bag. They support children to find their photo and put it on the registration tree to show they are present.

Staff know the children well and are caring. They build positive relationships with parents and, as a result, children settle straight away into their play. Leaders do not ensure that the curriculum is ambitious enough to enable children to make prompt progress in all areas of learning.

Staff provide opportunities for children to develop their imagination by pretending to be hairdressers and play with sand using ...tools to develop their hand-eye coordination. However, they do not consistently interact in children's play to help them develop skills, for instance to take turns and regulate their feelings. Younger children learn mathematical skills, such as those related to shapes.

However, staff do not consistently build the older children's mathematical knowledge, such as around weight when children talk about ingredients for a recipe. Leaders do not ensure that staff receive the support they need to engage children in consistently good-quality learning experiences. Staff do not help children as well as they can to build on what they already know and can do and what they need to learn next.

This means, at times, children's behaviour deteriorates, and staff do not manage this well.

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

Leaders do not provide staff with the support they need to ensure children benefit from consistently positive learning experiences. Weaknesses in the design and delivery of the curriculum mean that children do not make the progress they are capable of in a timely manner.

Although children enjoy some of the activities and resources offered, staff do not always engage them in purposeful play, and some wander or disrupt others. As a result, their behaviour declines. In addition, staff do not always notice children who need more support to communicate and interact with others to develop this aspect of their learning.

Staff engagement when children are playing varies. They do not always notice when some children find it difficult to regulate their feelings. For example, children are outdoors using brooms to sweep leaves and other children want a go.

This leads to frustration and arguments until staff intervene. This is because children do not receive the support they need to manage such situations.Children learn about being healthy.

For example, staff support children to wash their hands before mealtimes. Children choose between milk or water and have fruit or vegetables for snack. Staff encourage and guide children to pour their own drink into a cup.

However, some children leave the table before they have finished. Staff do not provide consistent communication to help children learn good table manners and remind children of the rules.Staff model language and introduce words such as 'spicy' when children are pretending to cook.

They encourage back-and-forth conversations to develop children's language in play. However, staff do not do as much as they can to extend children's vocabulary and listening, for example through more regular use of books and stories.Children listen and follow instructions.

For instance, at tidy-up time, staff use a tambourine to gain the children's attention. The children stop and look at the staff member talking. Staff explain that it is tidy-up time and then lunch.

This helps children to learn the routines and know what is happening next.Leaders use additional funding to provide children with a special day with animals that come into the setting. This helps to broaden their experiences about the world around them.

However, leaders do not think about what they want children to gain from the experiences based on their specific and individual learning needs. This does not consistently support the best outcomes for all groups of children.Staff gain information from parents before children start.

They use this information to get to know about children's interests. Staff talk to the parents at drop-off and pick-up times. They also use an online platform to inform parents about their child's day.

Parents appreciate how staff support children's learning at home. For example, staff refer to outside agencies, such as speech and language services to help children develop their speech.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date plan and implement an ambitious curriculum that meets children's developmental needs and supports all children to make the best possible progress in their learning 17/02/2025 ensure staff receive targeted support and guidance to improve the quality of their teaching to consistently engage children in meaningful play and learning.17/02/2025 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nensure that experiences designed specifically for individual children focus more sharply on what they need to learn next so that they benefit from the learning opportunities support children more consistently to understand boundaries and begin to regulate their behaviour nimprove the use of stories and books throughout the setting to strengthen children's vocabulary and listening skills.

Also at this postcode