Little Ducklings Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show a sense of belonging in the pre-school. For example, when they arrive, they hang their coats and place their shoes in their allocated space. Children who speak English as an additional language use objects in their play that reflects and celebrates their culture. For instance, at snack time, staff provide children with chopsticks to eat their snack. Staff encourage children to help each other. For example, when children make play dough and a child has two bowls of flour, staff ask other children what the child can do. Children reply, 'You can share'.

Outdoors, children show good balance and coordination when they use tricycles to negotiate space and when they climb on stepping stones. They receive praise from staff when they say 'I'm doing it'. This shows their positive attitude to learning. Children are very sociable with their peers. When they initiate a ball game of catching and throwing, they laugh when it lands on top of a parachute. Staff use this opportunity to encourage children to use language to describe position. When staff ask if the ball is underneath, children happily reply, 'on the top'. Staff support children's understanding further of mathematics when they talk to them about shapes. Children learn that a rectangle has two long sides and two short sides, and that the building blocks they use are called cubes.

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

• Staff effectively support children's language development. For example, they ask children to use descriptive words. Children say the play dough is 'gooey'. Staff hold conversations with children, encouraging them to communicate. They help them to understand words that are displayed outdoors. This helps them understand that written print has meaning.
• Staff encourage children to develop a love of books. After they read children stories, staff ask them to remember what happened. This encourages children to recall events and share their thoughts. Children have opportunities to take books home for parents to read with them. This helps to encourage parents to continue children's learning at home.
• Staff provide children with opportunities to learn what makes them unique and the similarities and differences in people around them. For example, children bring in photos of themselves standing in front of their homes. Staff provide children with opportunities to build and create their own house in craft activities. Children look at these and talk about the different houses they live in.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well by the managers and staff. Parents comment positively about the support their children receive. They appreciate how the managers work tirelessly to involve other professionals to support their children's individual needs.
• Additional funding is spent effectively to support the individual needs of children.
• For example, additional hours are offered to help manage children's behaviour during times of transition. The manager buys toys and resources to support children's interests. These are used during small-group times to help close gaps in their learning.
• Overall, staff support children's development well. However, during some planned large-group activities, staff are not allocated effectively to help all children benefit from the learning offered. For example, not all children are supported to follow a recipe accurately when they make play dough.
• The manager and staff use a curriculum that broadens children's knowledge and skills. For example, staff provide opportunities for children to learn about different cultures, such as China. Children make a pretend dragon and learn a dance to show their parents.
• Staff have rules and boundaries in place and these are developed with the children, helping them to understand what is expected of them. One of these rules is to remind children to use 'walking feet' when they start to run in the corridor. When children begin to walk, staff praise their achievements, promoting positive behaviour. However, staff do not consistently support less confident children to join in team games with their peers. This results in some children not being as involved as others or helped to understand how to play.
• The managers attend training courses to help develop their knowledge of how to provide opportunities for children to learn about oral hygiene. Children are able to practise cleaning their teeth. They learn how long to brush their teeth for and to use a pea-sized piece of toothpaste on their brush.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• explore how to allocate staff more effectively during planned large-group activities to help children get the most from the learning offered
• help staff to be more aware of children who need support to develop their confidence to play games with their peers.