Ladybird Heaton Norris

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The well-qualified managers and staff have an excellent understanding of how children learn. The impact of this is demonstrated when children greet staff, then quickly become deeply engaged in purposeful play and rich conversation. Staff know what each child is ready to learn next. This means that every interaction promotes children's rapid progress. Children concentrate hard to work out which upturned beaker is hiding the golden-egg rattle. Staff expertly model and encourage what children need to do to find it. The game is fun and the happy surprise is rewarding. It motivates children who are at an early stage of learning to talk. They make clear requests for 'more'. Staff's responsive repetition of the game helps children to learn that spoken words have meaning and power.

Staff embed and implement routines that demonstrate the team's strong professional knowledge and superb attention to detail. At circle time, children eagerly join in with the words and gestures that match visual symbols for 'good sitting, good looking' and 'good listening'. This promotes children's communication and literacy from an early stage of their development. The familiar routine tells children what will happen next and reminds them how they are expected to behave. It promotes children's self-control and sense of security.

Parents and carers feel very welcome at the pre-school. The team makes highly effective use of introductory home visits to begin forming warm, trusting relationships with families. Parents quote staff's reassurance that, 'there are no silly questions'. They say that the advice and training offered by the pre-school extends their understanding of how children learn. Parents feel even better equipped to continue children's learning at home.

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

• Managers communicate their vision for children's care and education effectively. They check that everything that staff do 'starts with the child'. Children encounter staff who are dedicated to nurturing their unique talents and promoting their well-being. The provider's confident delegation of responsibility makes the provision a joint venture. Managers and staff say that they feel challenged and supported to move forward.
• Managers ably use educational theory to underpin their practice. The curriculum is always under well-informed scrutiny and it continuously evolves. The manager completed training that enhanced her knowledge about children's physical development. She applied her learning and made precise, sustainable changes to the curriculum. Children now draw and paint at floor level more often. This promotes their shoulder strength and stability really effectively.
• The team worked together to design a curriculum that reflects the provider's ethos and promotes high-quality teaching. They looked at photos of activities and discussed which curriculum heading was the best fit. The 'master of maths' section shows children climbing onto something to make themselves 'taller'. Staff demonstrate their strong understanding that the photo also captures a moment when so much else was being learned.
• The curriculum has children's communication and language development at its heart. Staff use a screening tool to check new children's speech and comprehension. This helps them to tailor their conversations accurately to each child's stage of development from the start. New staff learn a core number of frequently used signs. Everyone uses signs and visual prompts consistently across the day. This deepens children's understanding of words and events.
• The provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is exceptional. The experienced pastoral manager coordinates a joined-up approach to promoting children's progress and welfare. Her sensitive support helps parents to play an active role in agreeing multi-agency action plans. Pre-school staff know the targets that children are trying to achieve. Children with SEND make rapid progress from their starting points.
• Partnership with the school is extremely positive. Difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic sparked some creative thinking that brought the two organisations even closer together. Staff from the pre-school now work part time in the school's nursery class. The friendly teamwork of this professional community promotes children's confidence and emotional well-being, particularly when they make the move to school.
• Staff teach children to take risks safely. This promotes children's capacity to judge danger and to keep themselves safe as they grow. Staff help children to form habits that promote their good health. For example, they teach children how to fasten their coats and patiently give them time to complete the task independently. Children feel proud when they progress from needing lots of help, to doing it all by themselves. They demonstrate a high level of self-esteem and readiness to learn.