Little Barn Owls Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children run in happily to Little Barn Owls. They are confident and eager to explore, play and learn. Children clearly know the daily routine and find their names, vote for their favourite story and put away their belongings before going to play. Children have strong bonds with their key person and settle very quickly in their attentive care. Children readily approach their key person for comfort and reassurance.

Staff know what they want children to learn and they have high expectations for all children. Children behave well. They quickly get to know the rules and boundaries of the setting. For example, children learn to sit down to eat their meals, supported by their familiar adults. Children are curious and motivated to explore the inviting learning environments that staff set up. They delight in finding their favourite bikes outdoors and see the setting's fish, which they help to care for. Children enjoy the stimulating range of resources and activities the staff plan to engage children in their learning.

Children keep on trying and develop perseverance as they play. They show a can-do attitude, such as when attempting to fit in puzzle pieces. Children play cooperatively with their friends. They communicate effectively, such as when they role play taking the lunch order. Children laugh happily and show that they feel safe and secure in the staff's care. Children learn many skills to support them when they move on to the next stage in their education.

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

• The manager is very much 'hands on' in her role to support her staff team and the children they care for. She has a good understanding of which staff need support to improve their practice. Role modelling and mentoring is a clear and effective method used to support staff to develop the quality of their practice. Targeted training, such as attachment training, has had a positive impact on staff practice and the approach they use to settle children quickly into the setting. The staff work well together to ensure the smooth daily running of the setting.
• Staff have a clear understanding of the skills they want to teach children, such as being independent and developing friendships with their peers. Children self-serve their snacks and pour their own drinks. They learn to develop an understanding of how others feel when they play together. However, at times, staff complete simple tasks for children that they could manage themselves. This does not consistently support children to develop their independence skills.
• Staff recognise the importance of supporting children's communication development. They are positive role models for children. For example, they ensure that children hear the correct pronunciation of words. Staff introduce new words for children to hear when exploring with compasses and magnets. They invite children to take part in focused language groups where they sing and play games to support children's communication effectively.
• Staff understand the importance of providing challenging activities for children to stimulate their learning. They plan to support and extend children's interests. Children enjoy hiding animals in the sand and hunting for bugs.
• Staff use opportunities to introduce mathematical concepts as children play, talking about 'big' and 'small' and asking children to predict and compare. However, very occasionally, adult-led activities do not meet children's learning needs. At times, the focus for learning is lost and children do not have the best possible learning experiences.
• Staff are calm and respectful towards children. They show infinite patience with children. Staff make time to have quality conversations and interactions with their key children. Children's emotional well-being is supported effectively.
• Parents are not entering the setting as they would usually. However, staff make the best efforts to ensure parents are fully involved in and informed about their children's time at the setting. New children have videos of their key person to watch at home. This helps them to become familiar with their key person before they start at the setting. Thorough handovers at the end of the day by the children's key person help to build strong partnerships with parents from the earliest days. Parents report that they are supported effectively by the staff, who go above and beyond to meet their children's individual needs.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to consistently help all children develop their independence skills and to have high expectations of what children can manage to do themselves
• help staff to consider the impact of adult-led activities so that all children have their learning supported effectively.