Little Angels Pre School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

The ambitious and passionate leadership team is dedicated in providing a high-quality setting.

The staff team is sensitive and caring, and has high expectations of children. They know the children and their families well. Children are happy and settled, and demonstrate that they feel safe and secure.

Staff support children's communication skills well. They use sign language to communicate with all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children develop good independence from an early age.

This is encouraged by the children changing into their own slippers when they... first arrive at the setting. Children have a clear understanding of the routines of the day. For example, they excitedly help to put resources away while dancing and singing to music.

Staff encourage children to resolve minor conflicts with one another and provide them with meaningful praise. Children behave well and know what is expected of them. Children are fascinated to learn about nature and animals.

They relish opportunities to care for the setting's pet rabbit and excitedly talk about taking the rabbit home for a visit. Children show a good understanding of the world they live in and are caring towards living things.

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

Leaders monitor the quality of education effectively and identify areas for improvement.

They have good systems for tracking children's progress. Leaders plan well for different groups of children and identify gaps in their learning effectively. For example, they provide many activities, such as 'Simon says' and a traffic light game, to support children's speaking and listening skills.

Staff have a good knowledge of the curriculum and use this well to support children with what they need to learn next. Children are well motivated and demonstrate positive attitudes towards their learning. As a result, they develop the necessary skills in readiness for their move on to school.

Staff plan an interesting range of learning experiences for all children. For instance, older children demonstrate how to follow instructions while learning how to make dough. They enjoy adding food colouring and scent to the dough.

Children are excited as they learn new skills, such as blowing through straws to move paint in different ways. Younger children delight while exploring sand with their hands.Staff have made positive links with the local school.

They have accessed training at the school to learn how to teach children about different letter sounds. This has equipped children with a good knowledge of how to decode words. Children show good writing skills and are beginning to form recognisable letters.

Staff promote children's good health effectively. They teach them about healthy lifestyles and provide them with good opportunities to play outdoors. Children enjoy dancing and moving their bodies to music.

They become enthralled while taking part in a 'wellington walk'. Children show good physical dexterity and endurance during their play.Overall, children settle well and build secure bonds with staff.

However, the key-person system does not fully support children's emotional well-being during their move to different rooms across the setting, and when staff absence occurs. That said, staff are caring and attentive to all children's individual needs.Partnerships with parents are strong.

Parents commend the staff on their caring nature. They state they 'feel part of a big family'. Parents explain that they attend workshops with staff to support their children's physical, social and emotional well-being, such as understanding the process of moving on to school.

The extremely knowledgeable special educational needs coordinator is an asset to the setting. She shares her excellent knowledge with staff and parents, and supports children to access a wide range of external services. Children with SEND make good progress.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff demonstrate a good understanding of their responsibilities to keep children safe. They are aware of what may cause concern about a child's welfare.

Staff are confident in the referral process, including what to do if they are concerned about the conduct of a colleague. Risk assessments are robust, and all areas of the premises are safe. Staff are deployed well and supervise children with vigilance.

They attend safeguarding training and keep up to date with changes in policy. Recruitment procedures are robust, and 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 the key-person system, to support children's emotional well-being during their move to different rooms across the setting and when staff absence occurs.

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