Little Oak Trees Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy coming to pre-school. They arrive excited to see their friends and play in the engaging environment staff provide. Children build close bonds with staff from when they first start at the pre-school and develop a nurturing nature. They imitate actions they learn from staff, reassuring other children who are newer to their group room by holding their hands and helping them put their coats on. Staff praise children for persevering to do things for themselves, which motivates them further. They encourage children to look in a mirror to help them wipe their own noses and put their belongings away where they belong.

Children concentrate while building creations using bricks and other materials. They confidently share their ideas with staff support and involve others in their imaginative play. Children giggle as they suggest they have built a giant toilet and a zombie. They listen carefully to staff's guidance on how to make their creations more stable and show great care while gripping and adding smaller, more difficult pieces. Children learn a wide variety of new vocabulary that staff explain to them, such as 'suds' being another word for bubbles while exploring the water play. Children know what staff expect of them and behave exceptionally well, particularly during changes to familiar routines. They pause and wiggle their fingers when staff ring the bell to inform them it is nearly time for lunch. Children wash their hands without prompting, collect their lunch boxes and find an appropriate seat at the table.

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

• Staff are ambitious in what they want all children to learn, including children who need additional support. They observe the children and thoroughly monitor their progress to identify potential gaps in their learning and experiences. Staff share ideas with each other on how to best support each child and liaise closely with parents and carers to find out what each child is currently interested in.
• Staff plan a broad range of activities for all children, taking into account their interests and the knowledge and skills they need to learn next. Older children enjoy developing their physical skills as they manipulate clay into different shapes. Staff encourage them to practise squeezing and poking the clay and adding a variety of materials to it. They talk to children about diya lamps and why they are important in the celebration of Diwali.
• Staff help children to be curious and to develop excellent attention skills while reading books together. They ask children meaningful questions about how they travel and encourage them to join in with parts of the story. Staff use stories to find out what children already know. However, some staff do not carefully consider what individual children need to learn next, as they focus on what they want them to learn from an activity instead. This narrows the learning the ablest children have to build on their skills and knowledge.
• Staff help children to discuss their emotions and teach them a variety of language to explain how they feel. They support them to negotiate with their friends and understand what sharing means. Staff encourage children to use timers to help them take turns when using resources.
• Staff talk to children about what food is good for them during lunchtime and how they can keep their bodies healthy. They provide many opportunities for children to practise their physical skills, such as running in the large open spaces they have available.
• The manager continuously evaluates staff practice and what it is like for a child at the pre-school. She promotes an ethos of all staff working as a team and works closely with staff to help them adapt their practice to meet all children's needs. Staff meet regularly to identify training needs. They agree on support and professional development that has a positive impact on children's experiences.
• The manager identifies areas staff need to work on next and has started to put training in place for them. However, leadership at room leader level is not yet consistent. Although all room leaders receive professional development opportunities, these are not yet effective in raising the quality of the practice in some group rooms.
• Parents and carers feel involved in their children's developmental journey. They speak positively about how staff communication is thorough and transparent and feel staff bring out positive behaviours in their children they do not see elsewhere.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• develop staff interactions and teaching to a consistently high standard, particularly when supporting the most-able children
• strengthen the professional development room leaders are provided to improve the consistency of leadership skills.