Lilleshall Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children attending the pre-school show that they are happy and cared for. They arrive confidently and are immersed in engaging activities. Children settle well with the support of the dedicated team of staff. Staff take their time to get to know each child and their family. Parents send in family photographs so that staff can make each child a unique book all about themselves and their families. Children behave very well and understand the pre-school routines. For instance, when they hear a child tipping the rainmaker, they immediately gather into groups for registration. Staff are exceptionally positive role models. They expertly model positive behaviours, manners and kind words. Children are very caring towards one another. They notice if another child is struggling to balance independently and are eager to hold their hand to help them gain confidence.

Children benefit from lots of opportunities to learn important life skills. For example, staff invite children to bake bread. Children understand that they need to wash their hands with soap and water before taking part. They work cooperatively with their friends to pour and mix the ingredients. Staff talk to children about the importance of yeast when baking bread and allow them to explore how it smells. Later, children are shown the end product and excitedly eat it at snack time.

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

• The manager and staff have created a stimulating curriculum that focuses on children's interests and experiences. Young children display interest as they explore coloured ice containing minibeasts. They use rich language to talk about the temperature of the ice and explore different tools in an attempt to reach the spiders and caterpillars inside. Staff prioritise speech and language development and continually build on children's vocabulary. This helps children to make good progress in their learning.
• Children engage in imaginative play as they work cooperatively to make a pirate ship. Staff facilitate children's play by expanding on their interests and providing a variety of resources that they can explore. Children express delight in making cannons out of cardboard tubes and comment that they are sailing to London. Staff inspire children to investigate and try different strategies to connect items to their ship. Children are confident to test out their ideas and show pride in their achievements.
• Staff teach children to love and take care of the environment. Children grow vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and beans. They observe the growth of tadpoles as they slowly turn into frogs. During small-group times, children listen attentively to stories about caring for our oceans. They take turns to talk about their experiences of pollution and the importance of recycling and putting rubbish into a bin. Children delight in opportunities to go litter picking in their local area.
• Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents speak very highly of the staff and the experiences they facilitate for the children at pre-school. For instance, they are grateful for staff's influence in teaching their children about how to keep themselves safe outside of the setting. Staff meet regularly with parents to discuss children's development and support secure transitions as children move into the next group.
• The manager and staff work very closely with the local school. Children take part in weekly physical activities in the school hall. They learn to be independent by changing into their sports clothes by themselves. Children learn to manage their own toileting needs with the support of staff. This helps children to develop great confidence and independence so that they are ready for the next stage in their education.
• The manager conducts regular supervision meetings with staff to discuss their progress or any concerns they may have. Staff receive opportunities to carry out additional training. For instance, staff attend training to support children's communication and language development. This helps them to identify children's individual learning needs. Staff speak highly of the well-being support they receive and the caring team spirit. However, the manager does not yet maximise all opportunities to reflect on staff's practice to elevate staff's good teaching skills to an even higher level.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• maximise all opportunities to evaluate staff's practice more precisely to elevate their teaching skills to an even higher level.