Learning Tree Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff enthusiastically welcome children and parents when they arrive. Staff promote children's independence and confidence well. For example, they keenly support children to look for their name labels to register their arrival and hang up their coats on labelled coat pegs. This also helps develop children's positive sense of belonging within the pre-school. Children are keen and motivated to start their busy day of play and learning. Staff's caring and sensitive approach helps all children to quickly engage in activities they enjoy. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and emotionally secure.

Leaders and staff know all children very well, such as children's home experiences, interests and what they need to learn next. Overall, they plan many opportunities to help extend all children's learning and to give them the best start to their early education. Leaders understand that not all children arrive with the same experiences as others. They design an ambitious curriculum to help children to make progress from when they first start, to behave well and to develop positive attitudes to their learning. For example, leaders organise regular trips to the library and to local parks. Furthermore, staff plan a range of opportunities for physical active play outdoors to help challenge children's physical abilities and skills.

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

• Leaders and staff engage very positively with parents to help support a consistent approach. For example, they invite parents to stay-and-play sessions to help develop positive relationships with them. Leaders frequently offer information and advice, such as the importance of oral health and healthy eating, to help promote children's good health.
• Children begin to develop an appreciation of their local community and for those people who can help. For example, leaders organise visits from local police officers and plan frequent trips to the local shops and market. This helps to promote children's positive sense of community and an understanding of the world around them.
• Leaders engage with other professionals to help promote consistency in children's learning and safety, overall, well. For example, they communicate with teaching staff at the schools that children move on to, to help ensure a smooth transition. However, leaders have not considered other ways to consistently engage with some professionals to help promote a targeted approach in children's learning.
• Leaders and staff are committed to continuous professional development to help enhance their knowledge and skills further. For example, they access opportunities to help support two-year-old children, and strategies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), such as autism awareness training. Children with SEND are supported well and make good progress.
• Key staff know their key children well and what they want them to learn next. However, staff do not consistently plan for all children's next steps in their learning. This means on occasion staff do not consistently build on children's skills and knowledge.
• The curriculum for communication and language development is implemented well. For example, staff consistently comment on children's play and model language, and they skilfully support children to play matching games and name objects. Children eagerly sing songs and listen to stories read by staff. They show a keen interest in books to help promote early reading skills.
• Children benefit from ample time outdoors to help support their good health. For example, staff challenge children to balance on crates and encourage them to climb newly purchased climbing frames to test out their physical abilities. Staff shout 'ready, steady, go' as children enthusiastically race each other on tricycles. Children are eager and motivated, and they have lots of fun as they learn new skills.
• Leaders and staff are very positive role models, and they are very consistent in their approach when promoting children's positive behaviour. For example, staff encourage children to use sand timers to share and take turns, and they calmly explain that children's actions have consequences, such as when children throw toys.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• explore other ways to engage with professionals to consistently enhance children's learning and development
• support staff to consistently implement all children's next steps in their learning to help promote a consistent approach.