Little Beebles Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff create a warm and nurturing space, where children progress well in their learning and development. Children feel safe and secure. Staff plan the curriculum effectively, which focuses on helping children to understand their emotions and build independence skills. Staff build strong relationships with children, knowing this boosts their learning. Children happily say they feel good today and that they enjoy their time here. If children feel anxious, staff quickly offer reassurance.

Children are curious, concentrate well and are eager to join in activities. Young children strengthen their hands and coordination by moving sand between buckets and building sandcastles, which they decorate with shells, developing their creativity. In music sessions, children build their vocabulary and confidence as they sing nursery rhymes together. They remember the song lyrics, which boosts their memory and rhythm skills. They also develop physical skills by dancing, moving their body to the song words 'Row, row, row your boat'.

Staff support children in understanding the wider world. When they can, they take children on village walks and to the local shop. This helps them learn about their community and develop social skills. Parents bring their pets to the pre-school to show the children, such as horses, sheep and dogs, to help children to develop an understanding of animals. Additionally, the local police officer visits regularly to discuss their job and talks to children about road safety, building children's awareness of their community and how to keep safe as a pedestrian.

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

• There is a strong focus on helping children of all ages to develop a love of books and reading. Staff read to children often. This helps children to understand experiences beyond their own. Staff read with interesting voices, and children listen well. Staff allow time for children to talk about the pictures in the books and join in with familiar parts. Children learn new words, such as 'stumble' and 'swirling'. During free play, younger children enjoy sitting quietly and looking through books on their own. Children are encouraged to take books home. This helps them extend their learning and develop a routine of reading for pleasure at home.
• Children are encouraged to use their imaginations while building with cardboard and tape. Staff support them in learning how to use scissors as they cut the tape. They explain the need to be careful with scissors and how to carry them safely. However, staff do not always challenge older and most-able children further to enhance their development. Those children sometimes lose interest in activities.
• Parents report that staff create a warm and welcoming atmosphere, where their children are safe and secure. They comment that staff build strong relationships with families and offer helpful guidance in childcare matters, for example helping children to manage their feelings and emotions. They comment that the setting is a credit to the local community. Parents appreciate the good communication they receive about the activities children have engaged in and their progress.
• Children are encouraged to participate in conversations to develop their language and communication skills. Children of all ages speak with confidence, and staff use sign language to support communication development further. Staff speak in calm, gentle voices. They engage in interactions with children, giving them time to respond. However, the questions they ask tend to require one word or brief answers, which do not enable children of all ages to fully develop their own ideas to support their critical thinking skills.
• Children learn about positive relationships and creativity while making Mother's Day cards, for example. As they paint images using large brushes on easels, children develop physical control and coordination. They create stripes of blue, yellow and green, explaining how they are painting 'flowers'. Guided by adults, children mould dough into spring shapes, such as eggs, flowers and ducks, which helps them develop their imagination and hand strength.
• Staff report they are happy working in the setting. Regular training helps staff stay updated on essential developments. They apply what they learn in their practice. For instance, a recent course on extending the mathematics curriculum has helped staff incorporate additional mathematics into activities, such as using language such as 'bigger, smaller' and 'increase' during big den building games. This has strengthened their implementation of the mathematics curriculum and positively impacted children's learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide older and most-able children with further challenges to sustain their interest and to extend their development even more
• engage children in conversations that support and encourage them to explore their ideas and interests even further.