Lark Lane Family Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy and well settled at the pre-school. They separate from parents easily and are greeted by the lovely staff team. Staff know what children like and provide activities that interest and engage them. Overall, the curriculum is well-thought-out. Leaders consider children's experiences and provide opportunities that children would not otherwise get, such as gardening club. This helps to ensure that all children make progress across the seven areas of learning.

Staff get to know children well. They form strong bonds with children and are alert to their unique care needs. For instance, staff recognise when children do not want to take part in group activities and offer one-to-one support in the continuous provision areas. This helps children to feel safe and secure at pre-school and promotes their emotional well-being.

Staff support children to learn about the importance of sharing and taking turns. They implement rules and boundaries to help children understand what is expected of them. Children listen carefully and follow instructions well. They remind each other about 'working as a team' at tidy-up time. The pre-school is very calm, and children behave well.

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

• On the whole, leaders plan a broad and balanced curriculum that prepares children for the next stage in their learning. They use children's next steps and interests to plan fun and enjoyable experiences. However, leaders do not always consider how to adapt the curriculum further for older and most-able children. This means that, on some occasions, this group of children's learning is not fully extended.
• Leaders use additional funding, such as early years pupil premium, wisely to support the children it is intended for. Staff consider any gaps in children's learning and purchase additional resources to help them catch up. This helps to ensure that the attainment gaps between different groups of children are beginning to close.
• Staff help children to learn about the things that contribute to a healthy lifestyle. They provide healthy meals, snacks and daily exercise. Staff implement good hygiene procedures and talk to children about how to reduce the spread of germs. For instance, children know to ask for a new fork if theirs falls on the floor. This contributes to children's overall good health.
• Children have a lovely attitude to learning. They eagerly join in with songs and ring games, skilfully remembering the words and actions. Children demonstrate good levels of patience while waiting for their turn. Older children concentrate intently as they work together to write letters on a whiteboard. They carefully divide the board in half to ensure they both have space to write. Children are motivated and enthusiastic learners.
• Staff promote children's mathematical development through everyday play. During sand and water activities, children explore measurement, capacity and size. Staff support children to predict how many jugs it will take to fill a larger vessel. Children use positional language, such as 'on top', 'under' and 'next to'. This helps children to develop their understanding of mathematical language and concepts.
• Staff provide lots of opportunities for children to practise being independent. Children select their own snack, pour milk and use the water dispenser independently. They learn to line up for lunch and confidently carry their own plates back to the table. Children are developing some of the important skills they will need for their eventual move to school.
• Parents are happy with the quality of care children receive. Staff collect information from parents about children's likes, dislikes and what they can already do when they first start. This helps them to understand children's individual needs. Parents attend open days each term and receive information about children's progress. However, not all parents receive information about children's next steps in between these meetings, or how they can extend these at home. This hinders the continuity in children's care and learning.
• Leaders and the staff team work well together. Staff have supervision meetings each term and access some professional development opportunities that directly benefit children, such as speech and language training. However, leaders do not always provide staff with feedback which helps them to implement the curriculum intentions more precisely. Consequently, some activities do not build on children's existing knowledge.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the curriculum for older and most-able children to extend their skills and knowledge further
• help all parents to understand their child's next steps and how they can extend these at home in an ongoing way
• provide staff with more accurate feedback on their practice to help them implement leaders' curriculum intentions more precisely.