Little Stones Pre-School and Out of School Clubs

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive at the pre-school happy and full of enthusiasm. They quickly settle and are eager to find their friends and join in with the activities on offer. Staff are caring and attentive, and have a good knowledge of the children's individual interests and needs.

Children show that they feel safe and secure in the pre-school and they have developed affectionate attachments with the staff. They listen attentively as they snuggle up with staff to share a book on the sofa. Staff make reading fun as they encourage children to speculate what they think will happen next.

Children are polite and use their manners routin...ely, for example saying 'please' and 'thank you'.Staff have high expectations of what children can achieve and help them to celebrate what makes them unique. Children who are learning English as an additional language are well supported to achieve the skills they need to understand and communicate fluently in English.

Partnership working with other professionals and agencies is well established. Staff are quick to respond when children need additional support. For instance, they implement effective strategies, such as visual clues to encourage children's communication.

Extra funding is used effectively to meet children's individual needs, for example providing one-to-one support when required.

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

Staff plan the curriculum carefully to provide children with activities and experiences that motivate their play and learning. They place a strong focus on expanding children's horizons and helping them to prepare for their move on to school.

For example, staff build on children's knowledge of people who help them by inviting police officers into the pre-school to talk with the children about what they do.Children are self-confident and independent. They adopt good hygiene routines and staff support them to do things for themselves, for example putting on their own coats and gloves.

Children learn about making healthy food choices, and about the importance of being physical active.Staff promote children's mathematical, listening and attention skills well. Children listen with anticipation as staff explain how to make dough.

They use mathematical language, such as 'more' and 'less'. Children follow instructions as they count out the number of cups of flour and water they need to add to the mixture. Staff commentate on what children are doing and ask them questions to extend their thinking.

However, staff sometimes miss opportunities to adapt activities to promote children's learning and enjoyment even further.Staff provide lots of opportunities to develop children's understanding of information and communication technology. Children show a real fascination in playing with cameras and tell visitors to 'say cheese' as they take a photo.

Staff teach children how to operate simple computer programs and use equipment such as a mouse.Leaders and managers are committed to the continuous development of the pre-school and they regularly evaluate the provision to identify areas for improvement. Since the last inspection, they have successfully obtained a grant to help enhance the outdoor area.

For example, they have added a mud kitchen and natural exploration area. However, staff do not always organise these areas as well as they could, to promote children spontaneous play.Parents are complimentary about the staff and the activities they provide.

Staff work closely with parents and involve them in their children's learning. They arrange regular meetings with them to share their children's progress. Parents' feedback is welcomed and used to make improvements.

Following recent feedback, staff have introduced stay-and-play sessions for parents to come in and join in with their children's play.Children behave well. They share toys and take turns in their play.

Staff act as positive role models and provide children with clear boundaries. This helps children to understand what is expected of them. Staff consistently provide children with lots of praise and encouragement, and this helps to boost their self-esteem.

Staff are highly valued and they work well together as a team. They are enthusiastic about keeping their knowledge and skills up to date and regularly undertake training. Leaders and managers monitor staff's well-being and provide support.

Staff attend monthly team meetings where they share ideas, and they have one-to-one meetings with the manager to support their practice.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff are vigilant and have a secure understanding of their responsibility to keep children safe.

They have a good knowledge of the possible signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk of harm or neglect. Staff access regular safeguarding training to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. They are familiar with wider safeguarding matters and know how to record and report any concerns to the relevant agencies.

Leaders and managers follow thorough recruitment processes to ensure the suitability of new staff. Risk assessments are implemented effectively to ensure that the premises are secure and safe for children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review the organisation of the outdoor area to promote children's spontaneous play and exploration strengthen adult-led activities to enhance children's learning and enjoyment even further.