Little Jays Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are confident and eager to learn during their time at pre-school. They get to know their friends and play harmoniously together. For example, children invite each other to join in with their make-believe games.

They act out getting ready for a birthday party in the pretend kitchen. Children sing together and share their ideas about how to make a cake. They talk about whose birthday it might be.

Children pretend to care for toy babies and imagine their soft toys are their pets. They offer each other drinks of the 'lemonade' they have made from water and petals and thank each other politely. Children develop the...ir imaginations and increase their understanding of routines, families and the lives of others.

Children form close bonds with the friendly and caring staff who get to know them well. They establish secure attachments to their key person and demonstrate that they feel safe and happy at the pre-school. Children develop a strong sense of belonging.

They relish the challenging opportunities staff give them to be independent, helpful and responsible. For instance, children work together to push the trolley of lunch boxes for their friends. They listen to each other and problem-solve together, as they figure out how to move the trolley around the space.

Children show pride in their achievements and feel valued and respected.

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

The manager plans a curriculum that is ambitious and challenges children across all areas of learning. She ensures that all staff understand what they want children to learn.

Staff observe and assess children's development to plan experiences that are focused on their interests and abilities. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress from their starting points.Staff encourage children to learn and use new vocabulary.

For instance, children describe the taste, smell, texture and sound they can hear when they are eating the cucumbers they have been growing. They use words such as 'crunchy,' 'rough,' 'bumpy,' 'juicy' and 'fresh'. When children ask what a word means, staff clearly explain this to them.

Children develop the communication and language skills they need, to speak with confidence and fluency.Staffs' interactions with children are of high quality when engaging with them during their play. They spend time talking to children, asking them questions and encouraging them to develop their critical thinking skills.

However, at the end of more structured group activities, staff do not consistently take the time to check what each child has learned and remembered. As a result, they do not always clearly know whether children's knowledge and understanding is securely embedded.Staff teach children about different people in the community and the jobs they do to help us.

For instance, children dress up as police officers and talk about the uniforms. Staff explain how police officers keep people safe. They sensitively share age-appropriate examples of when they might do this.

Children learn about the world around them and the roles different people play.At the end of the morning and afternoon sessions, staff gather all the children together for a group activity, such as reading stories and singing songs. Children begin to learn to sit, listen and understand how to take turns to talk in a group.

On occasions, the length of time staff spend on these group sessions is too long for some children to maintain focus and concentration. Therefore, some children lose interest and become distracted.Staff place a strong focus on supporting children to understand about feelings and emotions.

For instance, they talk to children about why some people might not like loud noises. They encourage the children to talk about how it might make them feel. Children learn to be aware of others and demonstrate kindness and consideration towards their friends.

The manager and her staff team are highly reflective and consistently strive to make improvements that will benefit children. The manager holds regular staff meetings. She shares training with the team and encourages them to use what they have learned in practice.

For example, recent training on teaching children about race and diversity has helped staff develop new ways of supporting children to learn about their similarities and differences.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager is committed to ensuring all staff understand their responsibility to safeguard children.

Staff undertake regular and up-to-date training in order that they understand the signs and symptoms of abuse. They know the reporting procedures they must follow if they have a concern about a child or the conduct of adults working with children. The manager follows robust recruitment procedures to check the suitability of all staff.

She ensures the premises, and any outings children go on are risk assessed to minimise hazards. Staff help children to understand how to clean their hands and safely prepare the food they have grown before they taste it, to reduce the spread of germs or bacteria.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to take time to check what children have learned and remembered when completing activities, to ensure children's knowledge is securely embedded review the organisation and length of group activities to enable all children taking part to fully focus and concentrate.

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