Little Stars Preschool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is inadequate

There are breaches to the safeguarding and welfare requirements that may compromise children's safety and well-being. Leaders and those staff with designated lead responsibilities for safeguarding (DSLs), have not taken sufficient action following a significant event. The quality of education children receive is poor.

Leaders do not ensure that staff have sufficient knowledge to plan and implement a broad and ambitious curriculum. As such, staff do not carefully consider the intent of activities to precisely target what children need to learn next.The support offered for children with special educational needs and/or disa...bilities (SEND) is not effective.

Staff do not always take prompt action to identify and initiate support for children with gaps in their learning and development. This means children do not make the progress they are capable of. Children are not engaged in learning and this impacts on their behaviour.

They run around the setting unoccupied and throw resources. When these behaviours occur, staff do not respond to them consistently. Weaknesses in the interactions staff provide mean children often receive limited and poor-quality interactions.

Overall, children do not receive the high-quality interactions they require to continually develop their skills and knowledge as they grow. Despite this, children appear content at pre-school and have secure bonds with staff, who are warm and gentle towards children in the setting.

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

The provider does not ensure that safeguarding procedures are sufficiently effective.

Weaknesses in safeguarding arrangements have resulted in delays in reporting safeguarding matters. This compromises children's welfare.The provider does not ensure the regular, ongoing support and coaching that staff need to develop their knowledge and improve the quality of their teaching.

Staff do not focus on their key children's next steps in learning and plan precisely to support their progress with parents. For instance, leaders have not ensured that the required progress checks at age two are shared with parents and are effective in identifying any areas of additional support required. As such, parents and staff do not know if children are meeting their developmental milestones.

Staff provide children with opportunities to practise their physical skills. For instance, children enjoy riding on tricycles and negotiate space as they run in the garden and use their balance to climb on the outdoor equipment. These experiences help children to develop their muscles, balance and coordination.

Leaders have not ensured children receive consistent support and strategies from staff to understand what is expected of them at the setting. Staff, occasionally, tell a child to stop doing something but do not share the reason why this is important with them when disputes occur or when they engage in dangerous behaviour, such as running around the setting or throwing resources. This does not fully teach children to understand the impact that their actions could have on themselves and others.

It also does little to prevent the behaviour recurring. Consequently, children's behaviour is poor and often presents a risk to themselves and others.Staff are unsure of the arrangements for initiating and coordinating support for children with emerging gaps in their learning and development.

For example, staff do not know who at the setting holds the lead role for SEND. This means that staff are not provided with the information of routes of referral to support early identification, for those children who require additional help to keep up with their peers, and progress ready for their next stage in learning.The provider does not ensure there is sufficient oversight of the provision to raise the quality of care and education.

Although staff offer a range of activities, these are not based on staff knowledge of what children already know and understand. As such, they do not always capture children's focus and they quickly become disinterested and disengaged. Children do not receive consistent, high-quality interactions, which impacts on the progress they make.

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 that all staff, including the DSLs, implement robust, safeguarding policies and procedures that are in line with the local safeguarding partnerships, to be able to undertake their roles and responsibilities to keep children safe 25/04/2025 support staff's understanding of the role of the key person, ensuring that they engage with families to identify where more specialist help and support may be required, including the purpose of the progress check at age two 25/04/2025 ensure the behaviour management policy and strategies are shared, understood and consistently implemented by all staff 25/04/2025 ensure that the arrangement for children with SEND are effective, including supporting staff to understand the systems in place for identifying gaps for children's learning and development 25/04/2025 implement effective arrangements to improve oversight and monitor the quality of the provision, ensuring staff are provided with regular feedback of their practice 25/04/2025 plan and deliver an ambitious curriculum that builds on all children's existing knowledge, skills and capabilities and engages them fully in their learning, indoors and outdoors.

25/04/2025