Little Rascals Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children show excitement and joy as they quickly join their friends and choose their play. Staff create a warm and welcoming setting where children are happy and ready to learn. Staff provide a range of interesting and inviting activities for children to engage in as they settle in for their day. Children seek out their friends and the adults caring for them. They initiate conversation and talk about what they are going to do during their time at pre-school.

Children engage in activities for sustained periods. Staff join the children and offer praise and encouragements as they enjoy their time at the gluing activity and behave very well, sharing resources and helping each other. For example, they share the glue and other resources to make winter pictures. They are aware of others and show respect for their friends and the staff in the room.

Children learn about healthy lifestyles and begin to learn what makes them unique. Staff talk to children about their bodies and ask questions that support their thinking skills. They learn about their bodies and the function of their vital organs. For example, children point to and show where in the body their heart and lungs are. Children are quick to join in together to say that their lungs are for breathing and hearts pump blood around their body.

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

• Managers and staff have an ambitious curriculum that supports the learning and development of children effectively. The staff team is knowledgeable about the starting points of all the children. They focus their learning aims on children's needs and interests, offering a range of activities that are both exciting and interesting for the children.
• Children are developing independence skills well when making choices in their play and the friends they interact with. Staff model positive interactions with others, and this helps children in developing relationships with their friends as they play imaginatively, sharing their ideas. For example, they create a den and make up their own songs together.
• Managers make good use of early years pupil premium funding. For example, they use it to offer children additional sessions at pre-school to further support their learning. Additionally, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well by the staff team. They know the children well, providing the teaching and support children need to make good progress.
• Overall staff support children's communication and language development well. Children experience a range of activities, such as learning to sing and sign, listening to stories and having conversations with staff. However, staff are not always consistent in providing meaningful interactions for quieter children to ensure all children hear the language and new vocabulary they need to build on their language skills.
• Children focus and show good levels of concentration as they engage for sustained periods in a chosen activity. Staff engage with children, offering praise and encouragement, supporting children's focus and enjoyment in their activity, for example in arts and crafts. Children explore a range of resources that build their fine motor skills as they learn to use scissors and develop their hand muscles to hold pencils to draw and create winter pictures.
• Staff plan a range of activities to support children's physical development. Children begin to learn about their bodies and what they can do as they explore and ride bikes in the garden. They become aware of the space around them and negotiate this to ride around others and objects in the garden.
• Children behave very well. Staff model the behaviour they expect to see from children, and as a result, they are polite and kind to each other. They use good manners independently and say 'please' and 'thank you' without prompting when asking for toys or equipment. They enjoy helping to care for the pre-school and are quick to help during tidy-up time.
• Parents know what it is their children are learning and the progress they are making. Staff provide detailed feedback and share information that helps parents in supporting their children's learning and development at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• strengthen staff's interactions to support a consistent approach in helping children develop their communication and language skills and learn new vocabulary.