Little Friends Pre-School Limited

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, confident and settled at this pre-school. They form secure relationships with the nurturing staff team, who know them and their families very well. Children behave well. They have strong relationships with their peers and are kind and caring towards one another. Staff help children to understand the rules and expectations of the provision, such as using kind hands towards one another. Children are happy and engaged throughout the session. They are keen to share their achievements and take pride in their creations. For example, they work hard on creating play dough sculptures, decorating them with lolly sticks. Staff support children to mould the play dough in a variety of ways.

Leaders work alongside staff to plan purposeful activities that reflect children's needs, interests and connections to the local community. For example, they take children to the local park and on the train to visit the beach. This helps build children's awareness of the world around them. Leaders and staff use resources, such as the mud kitchen and the 'mark making bag' to help develop children's independence. Children gain the skills and confidence they need for their next stage in learning.

Staff support children's independence by giving them time and space for child-led play. Children self-select resources to enhance their play. They use their senses to explore textures, such as pasta, wet sand and play dough. Staff sit alongside children to support and extend their play and at times extend their vocabulary with words such as 'hard', 'crunchy' and 'squishy'.

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

• Leaders are passionate about providing a warm and welcoming environment where children are happy and can thrive. They regularly evaluate how they can continue to develop the learning environment for children. A recent garden refurbishment has provided children with more outdoor learning opportunities, including the opportunity to use trees and bushes to search for insects and a stage area for children to perform on.
• Leaders and staff have worked hard to strengthen their relationships with families. They establish children's starting points and offer some ideas to support learning at home via an online communication journal and regular one-to-one meetings. Parents value the care and attention their children receive and the approachable nature of staff. Staff work closely with families of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), supporting families to access appropriate additional support.
• Overall, staff are organised effectively to support children's learning and play. However, on occasion, when transitioning between different aspects of the daily routine, children are not encouraged to further their independence skills. For example, when children are getting ready to go home, staff provide the children with their belongings rather than encouraging them to seek out their own things.
• Overall, teaching is good. Staff know the children and most staff know what they want children to learn. However, staff do not capitalise on every communication and language opportunity. For example, while children are playing with sand, staff do not always extend their vocabulary by describing what the children are doing in the sand. This does not consistently support all children to increase the range of words they say and understand.
• Children with SEND are well supported. Staff closely monitor children's development and identify gaps in children's learning early on. They work in partnership with parents and professionals to plan and implement targeted interventions. Leaders use additional funding to support children's interests and to meet their individual needs, for example adding a climbing frame into the outside area for children to work on their gross motor skills and the addition of a calm and quiet space to support sensory needs.
• Staff's well-being is given high priority. Leaders provide effective supervision and coaching for all staff. Professional development opportunities are in place to ensure that staff have the necessary skills to support the children in their care. This helps to ensure that children receive good quality education.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen the quality and consistency of staff's interactions with children to further promote their communication and language development
• review transition times during the day to help promote a calm learning environment for all children.