Little Learners Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff are dedicated to fulfilling their role, and provide good-quality opportunities and experiences for children. They are excellent role models, and children positively benefit from the their whole-team approach towards the learning and care they provide. Children show that they feel safe and secure.

They arrive happy and immediately engage in the stimulating and interesting activities. Children confidently explore the environment and express curiosity. For instance, they discover how to make marks on paper by using small tools and their fingers dipped in paint.

Children smile with delight as they create new colours ...by mixing different colours together. Children are independent individuals. They manage to put on their outer clothing with minimal support from staff.

Children prepare and serve themselves a healthy snack. They behave well and work together to build large structures, using different-shaped foam blocks. Children listen to each other's ideas and work out how to solve problems together, such as the best way to position a rectangular block on top of triangular blocks.

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

Leadership and management at the pre-school are good. The manager has high expectations and is very reflective on the provision she provides. This helps to drive the setting forward and is effective in matching the needs of the setting with the training needs of staff.

The manager supports the professional development of staff in a collaborative method through regular supervision.Children's individual interests and their previous experiences inform the pre-school's well-designed curriculum. This means learning is meaningful.

Assessment of children's achievements is precise. This enables all staff to know if there is a particular aspect of learning that requires additional focus. Staff are patient, kind and knowledgeable.

They help children to settle quickly and build a strong sense of belonging. Children display close and strong bonds with all staff members, who know the children very well.Children have many opportunities to play outdoors and to be physically active.

Staff make the very best use of the pre-school's location. For example, children participate in running races at the adjacent athletics track, and visit the local park to climb large apparatus and enjoy woodland walks. In addition, they bounce on the trampoline and develop good reactions as they quickly jump into a hoop when the music stops.

Strong relationships exist between parents and staff from the outset. Staff keep parents fully informed of their child's good progress. They provide a variety of opportunities to enhance parents' understanding about how their child's learning can be supported at home.

For instance, the introduction of home-learning activity bags is successful, as well as the lending library. Children proudly select a book to share with their family at home. Parents comment how this has really helped their children to develop a love of books.

Parents are very complimentary about the staff. They describe them as 'wonderful' and 'brilliant'.Children use early mathematics in their play.

For example, they use coloured cotton reels to create a pattern and have fun joining in with action songs that introduce them to subtraction.Staff are skilful at capturing children's listening and attention skills. For instance, when they read to children, they are enthusiastic and use intonation in their voice.

However, staff do not consistently adapt the way that they speak to younger children to fully support their understanding and encourage them to develop their language skills further.Staff help children to understand the routine of the session. For example, they use a wealth of visuals and basic sign language.

However, staff do not fully support children who speak English as an additional language to use their home language to enhance their speaking skills.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is a culture of vigilance among the staff.

They have a good understanding of how to identify potential signs and symptoms of abuse, and the procedures they would use to report any concerns. This helps to support the welfare of children. The manager's robust recruitment processes help to guarantee the suitability of staff.

Staff receive opportunities to update their knowledge of wider and changing safeguarding issues, such as radicalisation. Clear procedures for the use of children's photographs on the pre-school's social media page are in place.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: provide more consistency for younger children to extend their communication and language abilities further strengthen opportunities for children to develop and use their home language.