Alec Hunter Pre School

Inclusion: Expected standard

Overall, staff understand their role and support children with gaps in their learning to reduce any barriers that children may face. However, leaders do not monitor and assess staff practice well. This limits staff's ability to reflect on their ongoing practice. Some staff do not know how to make further improvements to support all children's outcomes.

Leaders and staff know the children and their families well. They identify children's needs quickly and accurately. Inclusion of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is a particular strength of the setting. Leaders work with parents to help their children to receive the additional support they need. This includes accessing and using additional funding. Leaders and staff collaborate closely with parents and specialists to develop personalised support. This ensures that every child receives the care they need within an inclusive environment.

Leaders work closely alongside the early years team in the local authority to ensure that staff access a range of training and support to extend their knowledge and expertise. For example, staff recently attended training on autism. Staff support children's communication and language skills by using Makaton sign language and visual supports to help all children understand and express themselves. However, staff do not consistently use these strategies. This impacts on children's ability to understand and prepare for transitions smoothly, such as getting ready to play outdoors.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

The curriculum is well thought out, and children enjoy a good balance of adult-led activities and those they choose for themselves. Staff know the children extremely well. They provide inspiring activities and play experiences that are based on informed assessments of their development and individual interests. This means children are provided with the right support to achieve their next steps in learning and development. For example, staff know to hold children's hands when they feel nervous and unsure about jumping off some outdoor play equipment. After a few practises and reassurance from staff, children safely jump by themselves and learn this new skill.

Staff have clear ideas for what they want children to learn and when, and they focus on children's communication and language development, including their mathematical knowledge. For example, staff plan an arts activity around the current topic of transport to help children learn how to keep safe in the community. Young children enjoy painting traffic lights and learning to match colours, such as green for 'go' and red for 'stop'. Leaders and staff demonstrate improvements they have made to the quality of the curriculum and teaching based on recommendations from previous inspections. For example, staff skilfully adapt their teaching for older children by introducing knowledge about zebra crossings. They ask children questions to help extend their learning. This helps children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, recall and consolidate prior knowledge.

Achievement: Expected standard

All children, including those who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are achieving well from their starting points. Children are making particular progress in their communication and language development. Children show confidence when they use mathematical vocabulary as they identify the shapes they make in dough.

Children take part in daily routines with confidence, such as washing hands before eating. They are becoming increasingly independent in achieving age-appropriate tasks. Children make progress in their physical development with lots of outdoor play and exercise. They negotiate space well as they ride on their pedal bikes. Children know to stop at the marked zebra crossing. They tell staff they must 'stop, look and listen before crossing'. Children learn to pull themselves up on the climbing frame with clear instructions from staff. They are setting their own goals as they play and learn.

Children, including those with SEND, have great attitudes to learning. Children develop their concentration and listening skills. Children with SEND enjoy engaging in a range of activities in the sensory room at the beginning of each session. For example, they throw balls at a target and enjoy calming optic lights. Consequently, they develop improved self-regulation skills and resilience, allowing them to focus better, maximise their learning and development and prepare them for school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Leaders set appropriate expectations for children's behaviour. Staff quickly address incidents of unacceptable behaviour to ensure children's wellbeing. However, staff do not consistently apply the setting's strategies to reinforce expected behaviours of children. For example, there are inconsistencies in how staff support children to solve conflict with others, such as disagreements over popular toys. This hinders the progress children make in understanding the needs of others and regulating their emotions effectively, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Generally, children play cooperatively with their peers and develop close friendships. They are learning to take turns and value teamwork as they build a tower of bricks. They develop perseverance and resilience as staff encourage them to keep rebuilding it when their tower of bricks collapses. Children from an early age show kindness, care and empathy towards their peers. For example, children independently collect a tissue and give it to their peers to wipe their nose with. Staff praise children for their actions, and this helps reinforce the positive behaviours expected of them.

Leaders understand the importance of attendance, punctuality and establishing daily routines. Parents express their appreciation for the way leaders are committed to helping children to attend regularly.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders have established an effective key-person system. Staff build strong relationships with all children and families. They share regular updates and take time to get to know families and children's individual backgrounds. For example, staff clearly understand about children's health needs, including allergies, dietary requirements and medication. Care plans for individual children are robust and updated regularly with guidance from parents and any outside professionals working alongside children.

Generally, mealtimes are sociable events. Staff teach children about making healthy food choices and offer a variety of healthy snacks. However, the monitoring of staff practice at snack times is not effective enough to ensure that staff are consistently evaluating and adapting specific approaches. For example, less-experienced staff support children to establish routines, but this is not always effective as they do not always understand when children need extra help or supervision.

Staff support children to learn how to take care of their own personal hygiene very well. Older children follow good hygiene practices, such as independently washing their hands before meals and after using the toilet. Staff provide the right level of support to younger children and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff model and guide children through hygiene processes to help them build on what they already know and can do.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

Leaders have a broad understanding of the setting's strengths and areas of development. However, there is not sufficient supervision of staff and monitoring of staff practice so that leaders can identify areas for staff development. For example, leaders are not always supporting less-experienced staff to understand when children need extra help, such as adult assistance to help them pour their own drink at snack. Consequently, on occasion, children get frustrated waiting for a drink, and staff pour their drink for them. This can reduce children's opportunities for establishing routines independently and practising self-care skills.

Leaders are generally reflective and work collaboratively with the staff team. They provide training to help staff to deliver high-quality care and education to children. Staff report how leaders support them in their roles and how they feel highly valued and enjoy their job. Leaders strive to deliver the best experiences for children. Leaders work together with local authority partners to develop the curriculum and care practices further.

Leaders engage with parents and other professionals thoughtfully and in a way that supports all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and complex health needs. Parents comment on the excellent support they receive from leaders. They find the advice they receive to prepare older children for school and younger children for toilet training helpful.