Cygnets Pre-School

Inclusion: Expected standard

Staff assess and monitor children's progress carefully and put in place swift support to help children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who are known (or previously known) to children's social care be included in the pre-school. Leaders and staff liaise with other specialist settings that children attend and other professionals involved in their care and learning. They implement targeted support, following advice from others working with children. Generally, children with SEND and families requiring additional support at home are well supported.

Parents and carers report that they are fully involved in setting targets for their children, particularly those with SEND. Parents know what additional funding has been spent on to support their children in the pre-school, such as one-to-one support and resources. For instance, a black-out tent offers a calm place for children to regulate their emotions. Overall, this helps reduce barriers to learning and encourages children to make the progress they are capable of.

Staff make adaptations so that all children can access all aspects of the pre-school, according to their individual needs. Overall, they help all children develop respect for others and to recognise that everyone is different.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

Leaders do not ensure that older, more able children have consistent access to high-quality teaching and learning across all curriculum areas. Although plans are in place to improve the balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities, these have not yet been fully embedded in practice. Therefore, not all children are supported to make sustained progress across all areas of learning.

Staff promote children's language development effectively, overall. Staff encourage children to listen to stories, talk about the pictures and join in with repeated refrains. Staff read stories with enthusiasm, mostly helping children to listen and concentrate. Children are invited to take part in singing and nursery-rhyme sessions. However, staff do not always monitor carefully which children do not participate, meaning some children miss valuable learning.

Staff generally support children's mathematical skills well during their play. They encourage children to talk about the properties of different shapes, counting how many sides they have and comparing the lengths. Children name simple shapes, such as 'square' and 'triangle', and use mathematical language such as 'shorter' and 'longer'.

Staff offer children plenty of opportunities to develop their physical skills. Children enjoy jumping on the mat in the rain, looking delighted as they splash their waterproof trousers. Others, use ride-on toys and negotiate space well.

Achievement: Needs attention

Typically, most children achieve well from their starting points. Gaps in children's learning, especially for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, generally close over time. Children develop some of the key skills they need for starting school. Older children learn to express themselves and engage in conversations. They listen and take turns in conversation, with reminders from staff. Children independently select books and ask staff to read stories to them, which they listen to and join in with. This supports children's early literacy skills and their communication and language.

Children develop their physical skills, outdoors, including their balance and coordination. They negotiate space well and are mindful of their friends when moving around the outdoor space. Children develop strength in their hand muscles as they use pens to draw and paints to make their pictures. They manipulate dough with their hands and a range of tools, and scoop and pour water using various containers. However, the older and more able children do not have their learning extended in all the areas of learning or their access to all the areas monitored carefully enough.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Overall, children behave well. They form friendships and play cooperatively with their friends. Children learn to share and take turns, and staff help them negotiate minor disputes and be considerate of others. Older children sit together and solve puzzles, showing they can wait and take their turn. This means they develop some key skills for starting school.

Overall, staff help children to manage their feelings and emotions. They use specific strategies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children are offered time in the outdoor area and in the swivel-chair if they feel overwhelmed and need some quiet time. Typically, children show they enjoy their learning and can concentrate well, such as when drawing, listening to stories and using the play dough. Staff generally praise children for their achievements and encourage them to persevere. For example, when putting snacks back in their lunch box, children say they do not fit. When encouraged to try again, they succeed and show pride in their achievement.

Leaders have respectful conversations with parents and carers regarding their children's attendance. They help parents understand the importance of attending regularly in advance of starting school.

On occasion, children are not consistently supported to follow the rules and boundaries. Staff do not always explain why children should not do something to help them understand why these rules are in place and to help them consistently learn respectful behaviour.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Staff make sure the environment is safe for children to explore. They help children learn about their own safety, such as when riding the balance bicycles, outdoors. Children know they need to get a helmet and put it on before they ride.

Staff encourage children to cut up the fruit they have for snack, helping them to learn to keep themselves safe while they eat. Snacks are healthy, and children butter their own crackers, drink from open cups and take their plates to the washing-up area. Children put on their own all-weather suits and boots before they go and play outdoors. This supports some aspects of their independence and self-care skills. However, staff do not consistently support children to learn about the benefits of healthy foods. This limits children's understanding of how food affects their bodies and how to make informed healthy choices.

Leaders acknowledge that they have not fully engaged with parents to support some aspects of children's development, such as toilet training, at the earliest opportunity. Although children develop these skills in readiness for starting school, they are capable of learning these skills sooner.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Since the last inspection, leaders have made significant improvements to the safeguarding culture in the pre-school. They maintain records and liaise with the relevant agencies to make sure that any concerns about children's welfare are monitored. Staff have attended some training and leaders have engaged with the local authority to seek training and support. Although improvements to the curriculum and teaching are in the early stages, leaders have put in place some plans to help support older and more able children. The curriculum is beginning to help children access more areas of learning and make better progress. Staff support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is helping them to make the progress they are capable of from their varying starting points.

Staff feel well supported by leaders and that they can ask for help and advice at any time. For example, they take turns to provide one-to-one support for some children with SEND, which supports staff's wellbeing effectively.

Parents and carers report that their children enjoy coming to pre-school. They say their children have made progress in their development and that staff help parents understand how their children are progressing. Parents say they know what their children are learning and what their next steps are. They receive information to help them support their children's development at home.