Little Explorers Pre-school

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in a nurturing environment at this excellent and well-established pre-school. Staff cultivate strong professional relationships with both the children and their families, fostering a warm and supportive atmosphere of care and connection. As a result, children feel a deep sense of belonging, which contributes to their overall well-being. Children are confident and thoroughly enjoy their time here. They deeply engage in role play in an extremely cosy home corner where they imitate everyday life. With great enthusiasm, children practise their fine motor skills by manipulating dough and using real herbs to create imaginary models.

The manager and staff highly regard each child as a unique individual and strive to foster an inclusive environment. They collaborate with external agencies to create individual learning plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), providing them with swift, targeted and highly effective support tailored to their specific needs. As a result, children with SEND are able to succeed in their learning goals. Children feel exceptionally safe and protected in the learning environment, making independent choices and enjoying cooperative play with their peers. Staff serve as excellent role models, providing children with plenty of praise and encouragement. Their positive attitude and behaviour inspire children to be kind and respectful to others.

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

• The manager inspires and passionately supports the staff in delivering an ambitious, inclusive and interesting curriculum. The staff are exceptional practitioners who hold themselves to extremely high expectations throughout the provision. The manager provides excellent support to the staff, enabling them to reflect on and evaluate their teaching and interactions with children and families.
• The manager and staff excel at supporting children's communication and language development. They create a language-rich environment and use a programme with diverse activities to help children learn and communicate effectively. The activities promote older children's literacy skills. Children also engage in turn-taking and social interaction during these activities to further enhance their communication skills. The excellent teaching makes older children confident communicators and ready for the next stage of their education. Additionally, staff teach younger children sign language and introduce new vocabulary through fun songs to build their confidence and encourage communication and interaction with peers.
• Staff skilfully introduce mathematical concepts to children from a very early age through everyday interactions and activities. For example, when singing 'Happy Birthday' to a peer, they assist the children in counting and guessing the number of candles needed for the cake. They encourage children to compare their age with their parents' age and use mathematical language to make comparisons. Children also participate in various activities that challenge their abilities to match numbers with quantities, further developing their problem-solving skills and numerical comprehension.
• Staff give top priority to the successful development of children's self-care skills and independence throughout the setting. They offer children sufficient time and space to concentrate on tasks and persevere independently. For instance, during morning snack time, children of all ages wash their hands, select and cut their own fruit and clean up after themselves by washing their plate and putting it away. Staff assist younger children when necessary and acknowledge and celebrate children's accomplishments and progress. This helps children experience a positive impact on their self-awareness and self-esteem.
• Staff facilitate young children's development of emotional literacy by guiding them to confidently express their thoughts and feelings while recognising the impact of their actions on others. To improve children's understanding of various emotions, staff utilise resources such as mirrors.
• Children cultivate a positive outlook towards the world around them, embracing visits to their school and local church with great delight. Along the way, they gain an understanding of the vital roles community helpers play, such as the admirable police officers. This approach fosters a sense of appreciation for their community and instils values of gratitude and respect in children.
• Staff provide valuable learning opportunities, both indoors and outdoors, catering to children's individual learning styles. The outdoor environment offers physical activities that enhance children's physical skills, including climbing and balancing.
• The manager and staff receive high praise from parents for their support and dedication, especially towards children with SEND. Parents feel highly involved in their children's learning and development, and they appreciate being well informed.