Blaby Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is inadequate

Children's safety is potentially compromised. The provider has failed to ensure that staff complete essential paediatric first-aid training. As a result, there are no staff that hold a current paediatric first-aid certificate on site or available to accompany children on outings.

Children are warmly greeted by staff on their arrival. Staff offer sensitive support to children that are new to the setting. Children settle quickly and are excited to see their friends and to explore the activities that staff have set up for them.

They take turns to order and make food in the role-play restaurant. Children learn to neg...otiate with each other and wait until it is their turn to roll cars down a cardboard tube. Staff praise children's positive interactions as they play harmoniously together.

This contributes to a positive environment, where children feel safe and secure. Children develop their small-muscle skills well. Staff provide a range of resources for children to use.

For example, children use tweezers and scoops to separate noodles from coloured rice and chopsticks to make different marks in sand. Staff encourage older children to copy Chinese number symbols. At snack time, children use spoons to scoop fruit and small knives to spread butter and jam on toast.

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

The provider has not ensured that staff maintain a current paediatric first-aid certificate, this means that staff are not equipped, through up-to-date knowledge, to respond appropriately in the event of an accident or serious incident. During the inspection, the inspector identified that the provider has previously failed to ensure that staff receive first-aid training in a timely way. The provider's oversight of the arrangements to keep children safe and to promote their welfare is not effective.

This compromises children's safety and well-being.The staff know children well. They use their knowledge of child development and their assessment of children's stage of learning to plan activities, which reflect children's interests and what they need to learn next.

Overall, staff interact positively with children. However, at times, they do not use their interactions well enough to challenge and extend all children's learning further.Partnerships with parents are positive.

Staff gather useful information from parents when children first start. They provide parents with regular updates about their children's development through face-to face meetings and an online application. Staff share ideas with parents to support their children's learning at home.

Children develop good mathematical skills and knowledge. Staff support them to accurately count how many children are present as they line up ready to play.They encourage children to notice and identify numerals in the environment.

For example, children recognise numbers on signs during a walk in the local community. Staff introduce some mathematical language during activities and talk about different shapes and sizes. While playing independently, children recognise how many cars they are holding.

Children participate in group-time activities as part of the daily routine. With staff, children welcome each other in turn, sing songs and talk about plans for the day. In the main, children engage and listen well.

However, staff do not always plan group times well enough to reflect the needs of the younger children. At times, these children lose interest and become disengaged in their learning.Staff support children to develop their communication and language skills.

They use symbol and picture cards to help younger children to communicate their choices at snack time. Staff talk to children as they play and encourage them to engage in back-and-forth conversations. Children enthusiastically join in with the words and actions of familiar songs and rhymes.

They choose books that interest them from the selection available and enjoy listening to stories read by staff.Children are encouraged by staff to be independent and to do things for themselves. Children learn to wash their hands before meals and after using the toilet.

They help to tidy away toys and resources before lunch. Staff support children to put on their coats and show them how to do up the zip ready to go outside for a walk.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

There is not 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 ensure there is at least one person who has a current paediatric first-aid certificate on the premises and available at all times.01/03/2025 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to maximise their interactions with children to further extend their learning review the planning of group activities to take account of the needs of younger children.