Little Barn Pre-school

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children eagerly explore natural resources in the garden area with staff to learn about nature and the world around them.

These include a large bug hotel and herb garden. Staff encourage children to take care of living things. For example, they give them flowers to plant and take care of.

Children water their flowers and look after them until the end of term, when they will take them home. These tasks give children a sense of responsibility and purpose in the setting, to help develop their confidence and thinking skills. Staff know the children well and develop good bonds with them.

For example, children seek ...out staff for comfort and reassurance when required. As a result, children are happy and relaxed in this calm and welcoming setting. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour.

They encourage children to say 'please' and 'thank you' and to be kind to their friends. For example, when children share play dough with their peers, staff give gentle reminders to say 'thank you'. This helps to install good manners and recognise kindness.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive support to ensure that they are included and make progress. Staff also support children who speak English as an additional language effectively. For instance, they use dual language books to help children communicate and share their cultural background with their peers.

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

The manager evaluates her practice and identifies areas of the setting to develop. She supports staff's professional development and arranges suitable training. For example, staff recently completed a course to help them develop their planning system to provide the best outcomes for children's learning.

Risk assessments are completed by the manager in all areas of the setting to ensure that all play spaces are safe and secure. Staff plan trips outside of the setting to broaden children's experiences. While off site, they closely follow policies and procedures to ensure that children are kept safe.

Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff communicate well with parents through a daily diary and verbal feedback at the end of each session. They share children's progress and provide ideas for home learning.

As a result, parents feel supported and are extremely happy with the care provided.Speech and language skills are supported well. Staff listen to what children have to say and engage in meaningful conversations.

They repeat words clearly and introduce new, exciting words to extend children's vocabulary further. For example, children decide to create a garden centre in the playhouse. They talk excitedly about their trips to the garden centre, recalling and discussing past experiences.

This helps children to develop their communication skills and confidence speaking in social situations.Staff are highly skilled at supporting children to develop their gross motor skills and gain control of their bodies. Children listen well and follow instructions from staff during planned activities as they dance and flutter like a butterfly then pretend to cycle fast to the seaside.

Throughout the day, staff play alongside children and add resources to games to extend play. For example, children decide to feed and wash the zoo animals so staff provide herbs and small bowls of water. Children keenly use the new resources in their play.

They tear and smell the herbs and carefully wash the animals. This keeps children focused and engaged in their game, which helps to develop their concentration skills.During play, staff frequently encourage children to practise counting objects and talk about numbers.

For example, children add candles to their play dough cake and staff suggest they count them. However, at times, staff are not as confident in further extending children's mathematical understanding and offering more complex challenges to build on their learning. For example, on occasion, they do not recognise opportunities to help children gain an understanding of the link between a written number and quantity.

Children enjoy listening to stories. Staff read familiar books and enthusiastically act out the text. Children relish joining in and confidently repeat the last line of the text.

Some children pre-empt the ending of the story and hide to jump out and surprise their peers. Subsequently, children are fostering a love of books.Self-care skills are taught well.

For example, staff use props to teach children how to clean their teeth. They give children toothbrushes and toothpaste to clean black marks from the crocodile's teeth. Staff teach children to wash their hands before they eat and after they visit the toilet, to help them adopt good hygiene routines.

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 further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to more consistently extend children's understanding of number and quantity and build further on their early mathematical skills.

Also at this postcode