Little Stars Preschool Grove Park

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive excited to attend pre-school and are warmly welcomed by the friendly staff. They confidently say goodbye to their parents and demonstrate they feel safe and secure.

Children know and follow the nursery routine well. For example, they place their lunch boxes on the trolley, find their names to self-register and hang up their coats on their labelled pegs. These tasks promote children's independence and give them a sense of belonging.

Children explore and quickly become engage in the broad range of activities on offer. They make choices and show increasing levels of concentration. Staff know children well ...and join in their play.

They support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and bilingual learners extremely well. Children who need extra support respond to picture cues and know what is happening 'now' and 'next'. Children are excited to meet the new rabbits and take turns to feed them.

Children discuss rules to help care for the animals, which includes the importance of handwashing.Staff have high expectations for all children. They reinforce positive behaviour and listen to children.

As a result, children behave well. Children use good manners and wait for their turn. They add their photographs to the waiting chart and use sand timers.

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

The dedicated manager leads a team of passionate staff who work well together and are confident in their roles. Staff talk highly of their manager who is supportive to their well-being and managing their workloads. The team meet regularly to reflect on their practice and make changes to the environment to benefit the children.

Recent changes to the position of coat hooks has increased children's self-help skills.The manager and staff provide a full and varied curriculum which builds on children's interests and supports individual children's needs effectively. They use observations and regular assessments to ensure that all children are making good progress.

The manager accesses extra funding and makes swift referrals to ensure that children who need extra support to prepare them for future learning receive the help they need.Children's language and literacy skills are given a high priority in the pre-school. Staff model language well and engage children in meaningful conversations.

Children enjoy sharing stories and join in with the repetitive text. They make marks with paint and chalk and write their names on their work. Children enjoy singing and learn new rhymes with staff during activities which increases their vocabulary.

Partnerships with parents are strong. Home visits are valued and help staff get to know children well from the start. Parents describe communication as 'excellent'.

They receive regular updates on their children's progress, next steps and ideas to continue learning at home. Parents state their children have made great improvements since starting pre-school, especially with their language, social skills and independence.Staff ensure children develop a good understanding of healthy lifestyles.

Children use the garden to develop their physical skills and enjoy weekly sports sessions. They grow fruit and vegetables, enjoy cooking activities and learn about healthy food choices for lunch. The pre-school is promoting an oral health programme which encourages children to clean their teeth regularly and drink water.

Children benefit from opportunities to extend their learning through first-hand experiences. For example, children visit and join in activities with the older generation at a local care home. Parents share their cultural traditions with the children to celebrate festivals.

This increases children's understanding of the wider community and what makes them unique.Children develop mathematical skills through various activities. For example, children count as they make cupcakes with dough, test out their predictions of objects that might float or sink and measure their heights.

Staff engage well with children during activities. However, staff do not always challenge children to extend their thinking and problem solving skills further.The manager forges strong links with other professionals to benefit children and their families.

She works with local schools which supports children at transition times. The manager is delivering a local authority programme with parents called 'Making it REAL' (Raising Early Achievement in Literacy).

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Children's safety and well-being is a priority. Staff understand their roles and responsibilities to keep children safe. They use daily checks and risk assessments to ensure the environment is safe and any hazards are minimised.

Staff supervise children and deploy effectively to maintain ratios. All staff have completed safeguarding training including the 'Prevent' duty. They recognise signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk of harm or abuse.

Staff know the procedures to follow if they have any concerns regarding a child's welfare. The manager ensures that all staff are suitable to work with children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen teaching during group activities to provide further challenge, especially for the older children.

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