Little Wisp Bishopstoke

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children arrive happily and welcome staff with a big smile. They settle quickly and demonstrate that they know the routine well. For example, they excitedly hang up their coats and put their belongings in their named tray.

Children immediately seek out friends to play with and display good behaviour. They enthusiastically explore all areas of the pre-school, showing that they feel safe and secure.Children show high levels of curiosity and imagination.

They use dressing-up clothes to wear as 'wedding dresses' and pretend to marry each other. They twirl around proudly to show off their dresses and assign friends roles in... the game. For instance, a member of staff is responsible for 'marrying them', and a friend is the 'big camera photographer'.

Children are thrilled that staff join in with the game, and they demonstrate strong and trusting relationships with them.Children benefit from a curriculum that has been designed to meet their individual needs. Staff identify what children need to learn next and then plan a suitable range of learning experiences.

Children receive targeted support based on their developmental needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, children who need support with their speech take part in small language groups. They cheer as they correctly identify rhyming objects.

Staff also use simple signs to reinforce children's early communication skills.

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

The experienced and enthusiastic manager leads her staff well. All staff have regular supervision meetings.

Any areas for staff development are identified and talked through together. The manager seeks out training opportunities, which allows staff to develop their professional skills. Staff development is valued, and they attend courses that help them support children's well-being and safety.

For example, all staff have attended first-aid training so that they are confident in how to deal with a child who has been injured.Staff work well as a team and display warm and supportive friendships. They know their key children well and confidently demonstrate good knowledge of the progress they have already made and where they want children's learning to go next.

Staff are thrilled with the support they receive from each other, the manager and the owner of the pre-school. They think of them all as friends and know that they can always go to any of them for help, advice and support.Children are supported to develop their independence skills.

For instance, they self-select fruit at snack time and use spoons to serve themselves. Younger children are well supported by older children, who help them to turn the spoon over to drop fruit onto their plates. Children demonstrate good communication skills as they talk about the 'squidgy orange and crunchy apple', which leads to much laughter.

Staff discuss the benefits of eating fruit, helping children to recognise healthy lifestyle choices.Staff provide interesting and stimulating resources, both indoors and outdoors. Children play with sand and foam bricks and work together cooperatively to build walls.

They follow their own ideas and quickly adapt the activity to turn the sand into a beach. Children take toy babies to the beach. They explain that the babies are sunbathing and have sunglasses on.

Staff help to extend children's thinking skills by asking if the babies should have sun cream on, to stop them burning. Children say no, before reconsidering this, as 'burning hurts'.Children use tools for a purpose as they 'fix the wobbly fence'.

They stand on a ladder to reach the top of the fence, and staff encourage children's communication skills by asking questions such as what tools would work best for this activity and what the names of the tools are. However, on occasion, staff do not give children enough time to fully consider the question before asking another. This does not fully support children to develop their language skills.

Partnership with parents is good. They are highly complimentary about the staff and the positive impact the pre-school has had on their children's learning. Parents appreciate the feedback they receive about their children's development and the ideas given for home learning.

They talk about how their children love to attend and how they even ask to go to the pre-school on a weekend.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff understand the signs and symptoms that show that a child may be at risk of harm.

They fully understand their role to keep children safe. This includes what procedures to follow in the event of a concern about a child or a member of staff. The manager has a robust process in place to recruit staff that are suitable to work with children.

All staff attend regular safeguarding training, so they are confident in how to support children's well-being. Staff have a good knowledge of various safeguarding issues, such as the risk of children being drawn into radicalisation and drug trafficking.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: strengthen communication and language strategies to support children's developing language skills.