Big Dippers Preschool

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders ensure that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are fully included and feel they belong. They identify potential barriers to learning promptly and work closely with families and the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator to implement targeted strategies. Leaders review the impact of interventions and adjust provision to ensure children access activities successfully.

Staff create inclusive learning opportunities that reflect children's needs and abilities. During role play, children who communicate non-verbally used gestures, modelling and repetition to participate alongside peers. In play dough activities, children practised turn-taking and descriptive language, enabling those with emerging communication skills to engage confidently.

Leaders prioritise professional development to strengthen inclusive practice. Recent training in speech and language development equips staff to adapt activities and scaffold learning appropriately. Inclusive practice is embedded across daily routines and experiences, enabling children with SEND to make progress from their starting points.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders design the curriculum around children's individual needs and interests so they build secure foundations across the areas of learning. Staff know their key children well and use regular observations and communication with parents to identify what children know and what they need to learn next. This informs planning across communication and language, early mathematics, independence and social development.

Staff implement the curriculum through daily routines and purposeful activities. At mealtimes, staff sit alongside children and encourage discussion about colours, tastes and textures. Children share ideas and listen to one another, extending vocabulary and social understanding. During a focused activity using coloured bears, children matched numbers and colours, counted aloud and explained their choices. Leaders reflect with staff to maintain a consistent approach so children benefit from a broad and well-sequenced curriculum.

While the curriculum is planned appropriately, staff do not yet consistently implement teaching strategies that maintain children's engagement over sustained periods. As a result, opportunities to deepen children's thinking and extend their responses are not always fully maximised.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children develop the knowledge and skills needed for their next stage of learning. They show increasing confidence to join activities, share resources and follow familiar routines independently. Children are supported to build communication skills through daily interactions, describing experiences and responding to questions. They develop early mathematical understanding by counting, matching and solving simple problems.

Children strengthen independence by managing personal care routines and making choices and typically persist when tasks become challenging. They refine fine motor control through activities that require careful handling of small resources. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities access learning experiences alongside their peers and make progress from their starting points.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Children demonstrate positive behaviour and understand the setting's expectations. They cooperate with peers, share resources and begin to resolve minor disagreements. They generally show growing confidence in group situations and follow familiar routines independently.

Established routines help children manage the day successfully. Children prepare for transitions, take responsibility for their personal care and make sensible choices during social times. They listen carefully during focused activities and wait for their turn. Leaders work closely with families to promote regular attendance and punctuality, reinforcing consistent routines that support children's learning and wellbeing. Children approach learning positively.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Children feel secure and settled in the setting. They form warm relationships with their key persons and confidently seek reassurance or support when needed. Staff respond sensitively to children's care needs, helping them to feel emotionally secure and ready to learn.

Children benefit from consistent routines that support their wellbeing throughout the day. They manage personal care with increasing independence, including handwashing and preparing for mealtimes. Children understand expectations around hygiene and follow familiar processes confidently.

The setting promotes healthy lifestyles. Children have access to regular outdoor play and balanced meals, and they talk about healthy choices during daily routines. These experiences help children develop awareness of their physical wellbeing. Overall, children show growing emotional resilience. They begin to manage minor frustrations and transition between activities with support.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leadership and management are effective in ensuring children receive a safe, inclusive and well-organised experience. Overall, leaders understand their responsibilities and maintain strong oversight of practice. They know the children and families well and use this knowledge to shape provision that supports children's learning, welfare and personal development. Leaders promote a positive culture where staff work together consistently and share responsibility for children's progress.

Leaders support staff through ongoing communication and reflective discussion. This strengthens staff confidence and helps them deliver the curriculum consistently across the day. As a result, children experience familiar routines and purposeful learning opportunities that build communication and language, early mathematics, independence and social development. Leaders encourage staff to use day-to-day interactions to support children's learning and help them develop the attitudes and skills they need for their next stage.

Leaders prioritise partnership working with parents. Parents speak positively about the care and education their children receive and value regular communication about progress and next steps. This supports continuity between home and the setting and helps children to thrive. Leaders ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified promptly and supported appropriately through specialist guidance and regular review. Consequently, children with SEND are included in daily routines and learning experiences and are supported to achieve well.