Little Apples of Bramley

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy attending this welcoming and friendly pre-school. Their individual needs are met effectively by staff who plan an ambitious and inclusive curriculum for all children, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children's emotional well-being is fostered by staff who nurture children's confidence and successfully support children to reach their next steps in their learning.

Children show positive attitudes to learning. They are eager to try new things and generally concentrate well at tasks. Children develop independence as they expertly use tools such as knives to butter b...read, proudly undertaking the role of snack helper for the day.

They behave well, share toys and are kind to each other. Staff plan a wide range of play opportunities that recognise children's family backgrounds and which positively support children's awareness of British values. For example, children of Gypsy, Roma, Traveller communities share their traditions, such as experiences of cooking over a campfire, during a creative game with their friends.

Staff successfully adapt the learning environment or daily routine to accommodate the specific needs of children. Staff's effective support for children in receipt of funding, including through the promotion of children's good attendance, ensures children's full entitlement. Leaders successfully monitor the impact of any additional funding used to ensure that children are achieving to their full potential.

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

The committee is the registered provider, and it has an accurate understanding of its roles and responsibilities. It suitably holds staff to account for the quality of the curriculum and effectively evaluates the provision, acting quickly on parents' views to ensure improvements. For example, a recent evaluation of how effectively staff support children during routines such as toileting, has led to improved supervision by staff to ensure children's safety and develop children's self-care skills further.

The manager and staff work well together as a team. Morale is high and effective action is taken to reduce staff's workload. Staff build further on their skills, through training opportunities that support their continued development in professional lead roles, such as supporting children with SEND, or in gaining recognised qualifications.

Staff benefit from regular supervision opportunities. However, these are not focused precisely enough on supporting staff to raise the quality of their interactions with children to the highest level.Staff support children's understanding of a healthy diet well.

For example, children learn why they need to prove dough and how to knead it as they make vegetarian pizza bases. Well-deployed staff supervise children effectively, including indoors and outside. Under their careful supervision, children learn to take risks safely as they climb up the steps of the slide or start to gain their balance on scooters and ride around their friends.

Staff implement procedures effectively that robustly support children's medical and dietary needs, ensuring children's good health. Children learn about people in the community who are there to help them, such as the police who visit to talk to children about keeping themselves safe. Staff provide consistent support for children's behaviour and help them understand simple rules and boundaries.

Staff assess children's progress accurately and plan a range of activities based on children's interests. However, despite a sound intention for the curriculum, support for children's learning, at times, lacks challenge. Children do not benefit consistently from activities that are precisely tailored to build on what they already know and can do.

Despite this, children relish the opportunity to splash in muddy puddles. They scoop water into buckets and create mud cakes for their friends. Younger children listen attentively to favourite stories and engage excitedly when staff use puppets to recreate the story.

They join in confidently with songs that staff sing, showing good recall and rhyme.Partnerships with parents, carers and other professionals support children's care needs well. Parents speak highly of the staff team and their children's enjoyment in attending.

They receive information about children's learning and details of any accidents or incidents that may occur. However, this partnership working does not currently extend to providing parents with ideas on how to support children's learning at home to allow for greater consistency for children's continued good progress.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The designated safeguarding lead is knowledgeable about the referral process and takes timely action when a concern is noted. She uses her good knowledge of multi-agency working to secure early intervention and extra support for families in order to promote children's good health and well-being. Staff demonstrate a secure knowledge of the procedures to follow should they have a concern about a child or the behaviour of another adult.

The committee follows robust recruitment processes that help to assure the suitability of adults working with children. Staff supervise children closely, particularly when they move freely between the toilet areas and main play spaces.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nenhance the good partnership with parents further so that all parents consistently receive ideas and suggestions to support their child's individual next steps in learning at home strengthen staff supervision and monitoring arrangements so that they more precisely identify what staff need to do next in their personal development in order to raise the level of challenge for children's learning to the highest level.