Little Rainbows

Inclusion: Expected standard

Staff receive appropriate training to follow approaches to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They adapt the support they provide to shape children's experiences. Staff use their assessments of children's learning and development to identify children's individual needs and act quickly when further support is required, including when making referrals to other agencies. They work closely with the special educational needs coordinators, parents and carers and external professionals to set realistic targets, and they review children's progress regularly. This helps to ensure children access the help they need and to close any gaps in children's learning and development.

Leaders reduce barriers to children's learning by making some thoughtful adaptations. Staff use appropriate strategies, such as visual aids and signing, to help children understand routines and participate fully in activities. Leaders show flexibility, such as taking into account children's individual needs when planning how and when to begin children's transitions from the 2-year-old room to the pre-school room. Leaders and staff are in the very early stages of implementing strategies to enhance the understanding and speech of children who speak English as an additional language.

Additional funding is used effectively to meet children's identified needs. For example, leaders have purchased resources to strengthen children's fine motor skills, develop their concentration and regulate their emotions. Leaders monitor children's progress carefully to check that additional funding has a positive impact on children's progress. Children known to children's social care receive sensitive support. Staff understand, and plan for, their individual circumstances.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have developed a broad and ambitious curriculum for all children. They share their vision with the staff team. Staff take account of children's interests and next steps in learning when planning activities and support. They provide experiences that engage children and motivate them to take part. Staff place a focus on ensuring that children develop the key knowledge and skills they need for future learning. For instance, they recognise the importance of forming secure relationships with children to help them feel settled, develop their social skills and motivate them to take part in activities. Pre-school children practise using coordination and balance when riding bicycles, and 2-year-old children hear staff model counting when singing rhymes and reading stories. Staff support children to count throughout the daily routine, and they model the use of mathematical language, such as 'full' and 'empty' when they play at the sand tray.

Staff model a broad vocabulary when speaking with children. For example, they talk to children about the importance of staying hydrated when they drink water. Staff use words such as 'sprinkle', 'sticky' and 'mix' when making play dough with children. However, staff do not consistently extend children's sentences and encourage them to practise using the words they learn in different contexts.

Staff adapt their teaching to meet the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to their learning. Their assessments of children's learning are accurate. Staff regularly check what children know and can do. They share details about children's development and progress with parents and carers.

Achievement: Expected standard

All children typically achieve well from their individual starting points. Children build on what they already know and can do and practise the skills they are learning. For example, staff revisit a book they have recently read to children to familiarise children with the storyline and language. Staff pause to encourage pre-school children to fill in the rhyming words, which they do with enthusiasm. Pre-school children often choose to look at books independently and ask staff to read aloud to them, which further supports their language and understanding. However, due to some inconsistencies in the quality of teaching, at times, children do not receive support to extend their speech and language development further.

Children develop their physical skills. Two-year-old children explore textures with their hands when making play dough. Pre-school children learn to match the pictures on puzzle pieces with the images on the puzzle board to place them in the correct position. Children make sandcastles using different-shaped moulds and make marks on the garden fence using paintbrushes and water. Overall, children receive the support they need to prepare them for the next stage of their education, including starting school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Staff form positive relationships with children and act as positive role models. They are kind and use positive manners and respectful interactions. Staff encourage children to care for and help their friends. For example, they prompt pre-school children to fasten each other's aprons before they play at the water tray, and the children do this, persevering until they succeed.

Staff respond to minor behavioural incidents by intervening using appropriate strategies and reminding children about the rules. Children listen to and follow staff's instructions. For example, when staff inform children that play time will end shortly, children finish their games in their own way and then help to tidy up. They play well alongside and with each other. Children spend time caring for and washing with dolls and allow their friends to sit on the back of the bicycle while they pedal around the play area. However, staff do not extend pre-school children's understanding to support them to think about how they might resolve minor conflicts for themselves. For example, when pre-school children approach staff for help with sharing the toys, staff get out timers and visual aids, but do not help the children to consider how they might manage the situation for themselves.

Staff adapt the activities and routines to reflect children's individual needs. For example, they use visual aids and signing if needed to help children to understand. They support parents and carers to use these strategies at home. Leaders recognise the importance of regular attendance and punctuality. They work with parents to highlight the positive impact on children's welfare and development.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Staff develop children's skills and confidence to manage their self-care needs independently. For example, they encourage pre-school children to slice their fruit for snack, wash up their used plates and cups after and support 2-year-old children to add the ingredients into the bowl to make play dough mixture. Staff provide healthy snacks and take account of children's individual dietary needs and preferences. They teach children the importance of staying hydrated and of brushing their teeth regularly and washing their hands.

Staff are calm and kind, which creates a positive environment for children where they feel safe and secure. Children feel comfortable to express how they feel and ask for help when needed. They understand the boundaries and follow staff's instructions, such as returning the bicycles to the appropriate part of the garden so as not to disturb or knock into the other children. When children request help with sharing and turn-taking, staff take the lead and suggest what resources children can use, although staff do not extend children's understanding of how to manage minor disputes independently. Staff ensure that care practices throughout the day are carried out sensitively and meet children's individual needs. Staff work closely with parents and carers to help children with potty training.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate a clear commitment to providing quality education and care. Since the last inspection, there has been a change in the management team. New leaders have worked hard with the provider to make significant improvements that benefit all children's learning and development. They have implemented support and training for staff to improve their knowledge and skills and made changes to simplify the planning of the curriculum. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and weaknesses. They recognise the main areas they would like to develop further to continue to promote improvement. For example, they have taken action to begin enhancing the outdoor provision further to extend children's physical development further. They recognise that there is further work to do to develop the consistency of staff's teaching of communication and language.

Staff enjoy working at the setting and feel positive about the recent changes. They receive feedback on their practice and have regular opportunities to attend additional training. Leaders consider the individual needs of each child when making decisions about the organisation of the setting, the deployment of staff and use of resources. Consequently, staff provide an inclusive and caring environment. Leaders and staff have developed more effective partnerships with parents and carers. They take time to get to know children's families and share more detailed information about children's experiences each day and the progress they make in their learning. Parents speak positively about the staff's relationships with their children and the individual support provided for children who benefit from extra help.