Little Saints Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy, settled and ready to start their day at pre-school. They independently put their belongings onto their own peg by recognising a picture of themselves. Children sit on the carpet and sing a welcome song to each other and the staff, verbally and using sign language. This helps children who require further speech and language support to feel included within the group. Children recap the class rules which they have worked together to produce. This helps them to create a happy and safe learning environment. Staff provide a calm and nurturing atmosphere, which allows children to develop confidence to explore the well-resourced pre-school. Children have free-flow access to the outside area throughout the day.

Staff work in close partnership with the on-site school. The curriculum is developed to ensure children are prepared and ready to transition to Reception. Staff use pictures and songs to introduce letters and the sounds they represent. Staff introduce the 'silly soup' song and encourage children to find objects beginning with that letter sound to put into the pan. Children thrive from the praise staff give them when correctly identifying these objects and show a high level of self-esteem.

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

• Staff introduce new language continuously. Children are encouraged to develop a wide variety of vocabulary. Each week, children are introduced to a new word, such as 'unique'. Children are able to express the meaning of the word, telling staff, 'It is what makes us different and special'.
• Children develop good personal, social and emotional skills. They show respect to one another throughout adult-led and child-initiated learning. Children invite their peers to join in with activities they are enjoying. They take turns using the watering can and filling the water pipes outside. They say 'please' and 'thank you' to each other, waiting patiently for their turn.
• Parents speak highly of the pre-school. They complement staff on settling the children, building positive relationships and a high standard of learning. Parents comment on the smooth transition to children's next stage of learning. However, parents are not always provided with enough information to ensure they are aware of their child's next steps for learning or stage of development.
• Leadership and trustees have a clear vision for the pre-school. They take time to reflect on their own practice, setting targets for how they can improve their personal development to enhance children's learning. Staff say they feel supported by leadership and management. They comment on the open-door policy and say how leaders and managers always meet their needs. Managers work to staff's strengths. They recognise when staff want to develop their interests and secure training for this. For example, they support staff who have an interest in forest school to develop their expertise in this area.
• Children show enjoyment in all activities staff prepare for them. Staff identify the learning objective of all activities and understand how each activity can be developed to enhance every child's learning. For example, children explore the tuff tray with pipe cleaners. They develop fine motor skills by threading the pipe cleaners through different-sized holes, making different patterns. Staff talk to the children throughout, looking at colours and shapes, and offering support when needed.
• Staff offer a range of opportunities for children to be engaged in group conversations. Children interact with musical instruments and talk about the sound they make. Staff encourage children to close their eyes and guess which instrument is making each sound. However, children are not always given enough time to answer these questions before being prompted.
• Staff work closely with other professionals to ensure all children who require additional support receive this promptly. They devise strategies to ensure all children are able to develop to their full potential. Leadership and management have staff in place to provide one-to-one support for children, where needed, to help them make good progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to communicate further with parents to enable them to have a full understanding of their child's development and next steps
• provide children, including those who are less confident, with more time to talk and respond to questions.