Bow Lane Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive happy and eager to join activities as they are warmly greeted by staff.

They show growing independence, hanging up belongings and recognising their names on the registration board. Children receive lots of praise and encouragement with the 'you can do it' scheme that celebrates even the smallest achievements. This promotes their confidence and helps them feel safe and secure.

Children relish imaginative play, benefiting from a changing, interest-led role-play area alongside a familiar home corner. Children have vast opportunities to develop their vocabulary, using a 'curiosity cube' to describe what the...y can see. They use their developing language to resolve minor conflicts.

Children focus and concentrate during water play activities. They carefully pour water between different sized containers and delight as it reaches the top. They enjoy playing outdoors and have plenty of opportunity to be physically active, playing football, using balancing equipment and riding bicycles.

Staff have established close bonds with children and have high expectations for them. They talk knowledgeably about the children and know how to move them along in the next stage of their development. This includes children from disadvantaged backgrounds, children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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

The curriculum focuses on the importance of a language-rich environment through the use of books. Books are available everywhere for children. They access these independently and engage in meaningful story times with staff.

Parents and members of the community visit often as 'secret readers', sharing stories from different cultures and events. Children regularly take book bags home. This further supports them to reach developmental milestones and exposes them to wider vocabulary.

Staff equip children with essential skills for later life. Children learn about healthy lifestyles and how to take care of their teeth through play. Staff are excellent role models.

They teach children to be respectful and how to communicate their feelings. Children use exceptional manners, asking for help or to have a turn. The pre-school regularly writes to pen-pals in Ireland.

This teaches children about the wider world and similarities and differences to other children.Staff have an in-depth process to gather information about children when they start. They use this to identify gaps in knowledge and quickly put support in place.

This includes small social and language groups, where children develop confidence to build friendships and use new words. Staff accurately assess children's learning through careful observations and plan activities around children's interests. This supports children to be well prepared for their next stages of learning, including moving on to school.

Children from disadvantaged backgrounds, children who speak English as an additional language and children with SEND are supported well, overall. Staff work closely with professionals and parents to quickly put targets in place. This means children make good strides in their development.

Leaders work extremely hard to ensure that they can access funding and support for children with SEND. Additional funding is also thoughtfully used to enable children from disadvantaged backgrounds to benefit from extra-curricular activities. This helps them master new skills and make good progress.

Leaders act with integrity and have high ambitions for everyone. They are clear on the pre-school's strengths and areas of development. Leaders have good processes in place to support their team to deliver the curriculum and meet children's individual needs.

This includes regular supervisions and monitoring. However, this could be strengthened further through more individualised training for staff.Parents speak extremely highly of staff and leaders.

They comment on the strong key-person relationships and friendships their children have made. Parents of children with SEND describe how inclusive the pre-school is. Communication is strong, through the use of an app where parents receive regular updates.

Staff meet regularly with parents, sharing children's progress and activities to extend learning at home.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders and staff understand their responsibility to keep everyone safe.

They have a good understanding of reporting procedures. This includes concerns about a child or an adult. Staff ensure that the environment is safe by completing regular risk assessments.

They teach children how to manage their own safety through discussions and stories. Staff keep their paediatric first-aid training up to date. Leaders ensure that staff are suitable to work with children.

They have robust systems in place during recruitment and to check ongoing suitability. Leaders keep up to date with local safeguarding issues and retain close links within the community.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen staff training and coaching opportunities further to provide even more effective support to children.

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