Little Oaks Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children receive excellent care and education. During the COVID-19 restrictions, the provider, who is also the manager, and staff worked incredibly hard to ensure children's education continued and their safety and welfare was paramount. They conducted weekly doorstep welfare checks and went above and beyond to provide any additional support children and their families needed.

Children are enthusiastic and incredibly happy and content. They greet staff warmly. Children positively participate in taking care of their own belongings and eagerly make choices about what they want to do as soon as they arrive. Staff have very high behaviour expectations that are well understood by children. Relationships between staff, children and their peers are extremely respectful. Children are keen to take on small responsibilities, such as tidying away and getting ready for snack. Their efforts are rewarded with praise.

The curriculum is excellent, with communication and language a key focus. Staff use a range of initiatives to support children to swiftly acquire the skills they need to express themselves. Children sustain exceptionally high levels of interest. During whole-group sessions, children identify that the season is spring and discuss what changes they might see in the environment. Staff enrich children's vocabulary, and children can confidently articulate what they know and remember. Children confidently recall a story about a caterpillar that turns into a butterfly and sing familiar songs. They paint their own butterflies, and staff incorporate mathematical knowledge relating to symmetry, patterns and shapes. Children make substantial progress from their starting points and become more than ready for school.

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

• Leadership and management are exceptionally strong. The manager provides a robust induction and prioritises staff's ongoing performance to maintain high standards. Staff's well-being is given high priority and there are welfare strategies to support this. Staff access plenty of training, such as behaviour management and speech and language. This has helped staff to develop a deeper understanding of how children learn and their role in enabling this.
• Staff know children exceptionally well. They diligently observe and assess their abilities. They plan and provide a wide range of interesting experiences to build on what children know and can do. Children are highly challenged in their learning and well supported to reach their full potential. The manager works closely with school staff to help children prepare for this eventual move. For example, children regularly attend school events.
• Children develop a love of reading. They enjoy voting for their favourites stories and are eager to take part in story time. The manager has introduced a book bag scheme, and children enjoy the book borrowing library that has been set up outside the pre-school, which they can freely use.
• Children develop their literacy skills significantly. They love drawing and writing and make large-scale artwork to music, using big movements with crayons on paper. Children give meaning to the marks they make and some are writing clear and recognisable letters. They have spent time learning about the sounds that letters make. Some children have even started to connect them together to read simple words.
• The special educational needs coordinator works closely with the local inclusion team and a range of other professionals. The support for children with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language is excellent. Additional funding is targeted on relevant resources and extra staffing. The gaps in these children's attainment are rapidly closing as they benefit from high-quality educational intervention and one-to-one care support.
• Children thrive and their physical well-being is promoted exceptionally well. Staff share guidance with parents about how to provide children with a healthy and balanced diet. Children have plenty of fresh air and outdoor play. They take part in dance and movement sessions with props. Staff encourage children's independence and self-care skills. Children swiftly learn to use the toilet and wash their hands with minimal support. Recently, a focus on oral hygiene has been introduced. This includes oversight of children's dental hygiene and discussions with them and their parents about the importance of this.
• The pre-school is highly inclusive. Children's interests are taken into account and their voices are heard. Staff teach children about similarities and differences, including their cultures, races and religious beliefs. These are valued and celebrated. Children learn about the importance of looking after the environment as they learn about recycling. They gain understanding of people who help us and are currently looking forward to a visit from local firefighters.
• Partnership working is strong. Two-way relationships with parents are excellent. Staff ask for parents' input into assessments and discuss with them how they can build on children's learning at home. Parents comment that the pre-school is 'brilliant' and that their children delight in attending and are progressing above and beyond their expectations.
• Reflective practice is exemplary. The manager has a clear and ambitious vision for the setting. She constantly questions herself and reviews all elements of the provision. She takes account of the views of staff, children and parents in setting targets and aims for the future.