Little Ladybirds & Night Owls

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children quickly become deeply engaged in play, discovery and learning. They choose resources that trigger their imagination and that they enjoy. Staff support children through careful questioning, narration and explanations to help them build on what they already know and understand. There is a clear ethos throughout the curriculum that fosters a child-led drive to learning. The sequence of learning children experience within the curriculum helps prepare them for their ultimate move to school. For example, children stand at tables and raised trays and create obstacle courses with tyres, crates and planks. This supports the focus on strengthening children's core muscles in preparation for their later development of fine motor skills they need when they begin to write.

Children behave well. They respect the very simple rules and respond with enthusiasm when they are asked to listen to a member of staff. They follow the fun instructions, such as balancing on one leg, in preparation to hear what is going to happen next. Staff create quiet and comfortable spaces for children to relax. Children begin to recognise when and why their emotions are building. Staff gently support children to manage their feelings so that they become calm and ready to learn again. This contributes to the harmonious and industrious environment.

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

• Children freely move around the pre-school. They take resources to different areas, allowing them to use items in a wide variety of ways. For example, children find tins to transport water so that they can create puddles in which they can jump. Through their self-exploration, children develop their thinking skills. They solve problems and work out what might happen next. They work out the size of cars they need to push through a long tube. While children repeat and practise activities and actions, they consolidate what they already know. Staff encourage children to use reference books to help them find out new facts and information, helping to increase their understanding. As a result, children make good progress in their learning and development.
• Staff skilfully use their knowledge to judge when to join in children's activities to add further challenge or when to step back, giving children time and space for uninterrupted play and learning. As a result, there is a good balance between child- and adult-led activity and learning.
• Leaders carefully consider how to spend any additional funding they receive for some individual children. Staff talk to parents and use their own assessments to help ensure any gaps in children's learning are targeted through the most appropriate resources and teaching.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Before children first start in the pre-school, named staff visit them and their parents at home. This enables staff to gather important information they need to help them prepare equipment and resources to make children feel welcome when they arrive at pre-school. Parents tell staff what their children can already do and understand. Staff use this along with their own early observations to help focus on what children need to learn next right from the start.
• Key persons communicate and work closely with the staff within the nursery class that many children also attend. They share information about children's next steps in learning and their own observations about children's achievements. Staff ensure that any information that needs to be passed from either the nursery class or school to parents is clearly communicated. This helps to ensure parents remain well informed about their children's well-being.
• Leaders value the staff. They ensure that staff work in a supportive and caring environment. In turn, staff are very good role models for all the children. This helps to foster a respectful and positive environment.
• When staff begin to work in the pre-school, leaders support them through a structured period of induction. This helps staff quickly familiarise themselves with policies and procedures to keep children safe and healthy in the pre-school and after-school club. Throughout their employment, staff receive regular supervision and team meetings, helping leaders monitor the quality of practice. This is reflected in the professional development opportunities staff embrace. There are, however, opportunities to continue to review and adapt some practices to provide consistently exceptional experiences for children. This particularly relates to the period of transition for children who have spent the morning in the nursery class, so they are able to quickly engage in focused and meaningful tasks and activity while their peers arrive and settle for the afternoon too.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• continue to support staff to find ways to optimise children's routine experiences and learning particularly around times of transitions.