The Ark Pre-School Nursery Liphook

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

The management team drives continuous improvement extremely effectively. A culture of respect and concern for the welfare of all children is evident across the setting.

The experienced staff team offers children exceptional levels of emotional support. Children show very strong attachments with all staff. They demonstrate high levels of self-esteem and exemplary behaviour.

Children have an abundance of opportunities to practise their physical skills. For instance, they use materials, such as planks and crates, to create a fire engine. They excitedly find the fire fighters' hats and act out different characters w...ith great enthusiasm.

Children swish ribbons around them and pretend to be the fire. Their friends hunt for hoses and take on fire-fighter roles. Children develop an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves safe.

For example, they carefully balance crates and show a superb awareness of the safety and space of their friends around them. Staff are extremely responsive to children's needs. For example, they reflect on the interests of quieter children and instantly follow their fascination with dinosaurs.

Children show an understanding of positional language as they hide dinosaurs under containers and move them across small logs. Staff extend this further and introduce books. Children compare similarities and differences with genuine interest and decide to create their own dinosaurs.

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

Highly effective partnership working is instrumental to many of the setting's achievements. The support for children who are in receipt of additional funding and those who need additional support is a real strength. Detailed intervention plans, close monitoring and effective multi-agency working ensure that all children make excellent progress and gaps in learning swiftly close.

Staff have extremely strong relationships with parents. For example, they obtain detailed information about children's home lives and achievements, and tailor settling-in procedures to each child's individual needs. Staff plan numerous events that involve parents in their children's learning.

Activities include workshops which give parents guidance to help support school readiness, for example to build on children's early literacy skills. Staff talk to parents about sharing books and using libraries, and have introduced a lending library and home story sacks. This is having an extremely positive impact on parents' engagement with their children's ongoing development.

The cultural diversity of children is immensely valued. The managers and staff seek out wonderful resources to support the learning of children who speak English as an additional language. For example, they sing the 'hello song' in children's home language and make superb use of materials, books and posters that reflect their home culture.

This helps to ensure that children hear and learn other languages and respect diverse cultures.Staff make the most of highly skilled teaching opportunities each day. For example, small key-group sessions are used to help children make excellent progress in their speech and communication development.

Children are confident speakers and use their rapidly developing language well to express themselves. This is demonstrated when they use props and enthusiastically bring stories to life.The managers provide staff with excellent supervision and training opportunities.

Professional development for staff is targeted to help them deliver exceptional learning experiences for children. For example, training has helped staff to review how they stimulate children's imagination and creative thinking. This has had a positive impact on children's independence and their excellent problem-solving skills.

They now confidently find their own materials to create pretend fireworks and are highly motivated to learn more.Staff make precise assessments of children's next steps in learning. They closely observe what children are interested in, to expertly extend their development and curiosity skills.

For example, children focus intently as they shine torches through a variety of natural resources. They explore and discover changes in colour, light and shadows, and engage in the activity for a sustained period.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The management team works highly effectively with partner agencies to support children's welfare. It ensures that all the staff keep their training up to date, including about wider safeguarding issues, such as current legislation. Staff are alert to any possible signs of abuse.

They share information on internet safety with parents, show an excellent knowledge of safeguarding and understand who to share their concerns with. Highly comprehensive policies and procedures support staff in taking swift action effectively. There are extremely robust vetting and induction systems in place to ensure all staff are suitable to work with children.