Ladybirds Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy to arrive and settle quickly in this warm and welcoming pre-school. Staff members individually greet each child upon arrival and obtain relevant information from parents to ensure that children's needs are clearly understood and addressed from the outset. As a result, children adjust promptly and exhibit positive relationships with staff.

Throughout the pre-school, staff understand how to build on children's learning through skilful interactions. For example, staff encourage children to sing along to favourite rhymes. Staff expertly bring stories to life for children, who become engrossed and excited to listen. Children join in with the repeated phrases enthusiastically and this supports their early literacy skills and encourages a love of books.

Staff place a focus on helping children to develop a strong sense of self and self-awareness and, overall, children behave well. Children's individuality is acknowledged and valued. For example, staff talk to children about their facial features and children are excited to discover they have the same eye colour as other children.

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

• Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities effectively. They work closely with parents and other professionals to review children's next steps, which help them decide what to teach children. Staff design targeted activities to further enhance children's communication and language skills. For example they use Makaton sign language to help children become confident communicators.
• Partnerships with parents and carers are strong. Families describe the pre-school as 'faultless' and note that their children enjoy attending and have developed positive relationships with staff and peers. Staff collaborate closely with parents to support children in making a smooth transition from home to pre-school and then on to primary school.
• Leaders have an ambitious curriculum in place; however, this is not always implemented by staff. Sometimes, older and most-able children do not receive experiences that offer challenge in their learning. As a result, they struggle to regulate their behaviour because they become bored and distracted.
• Staff read stories to children in lively voices, capturing their attention. Children of all ages enjoy listening and joining in with familiar parts. For instance, they guess which animal is hiding behind each door of the book with staff. Staff introduce new words and support children in expressing themselves confidently. Staff support younger children to develop their early writing skills as they use pens to make marks on paper. Pre-school children confidently write their names on their artwork.
• Staff encourage children to express their own ideas and develop their creativity. As they role play, children build their imaginative skills by making potions in the mud kitchen. They learn to cooperate, deciding who will mix what colour and eagerly wait for the results. Children develop their creative skills when doing live drawings of sunflowers.
• The manager and staff acknowledge the value of providing children with experiences that help them learn about their community. They take children to visit local amenities, such as the village hall. In addition, children learn to care about animals. For example, they enjoyed a visit from a local pony and were encouraged to brush its mane and put bows on it.
• Outdoor learning is an integral part of the provision. The garden is viewed as an extension of the classroom, offering a wide range of physical and exploratory play. Children develop their coordination and motor skills by climbing, balancing and navigating bikes and tricycles. Additionally, they participate in imaginative activities in the mud kitchen, creating potions with paint and water. Children grow their own fruit and eagerly check if it is ripe before tasting it, fostering a love for the outdoors.
• Staff work well together, and their morale is good. Leaders value the staff team and provide effective support. Staff enjoy working at the pre-school and say they feel valued and supported to do a good job. However, the leadership team have not sought further ways to help all staff develop a deep knowledge of teaching and learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help staff to implement the curriculum more consistently to provide the most-able children with more challenging experiences
• continue to build on the already good practice, seeking further ways to enhance staff's professional development that focus on deepening their knowledge on teaching and learning.