Little Spinnakers Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive happy, they leave their parents with ease and settle quickly. Staff understand the importance of building strong relationships with the children and families. For example, they plan detailed inductions, where they spend time getting to know each unique child. This supports children's individual needs and enables them to form strong attachments with staff.

The managers and staff ensure that the curriculum is ambitious and that it provides an exciting range of experiences for all children. Children take part in projects such as, hatching their own chicks. They learn new language such as, 'incubators' and 'hatching', as they watch the daily changes that take place. Staff identify gaps in children's communication skills, they work with external professionals to provide targeted support. For example, they organise one-to-one activities to promote two-way conversations. This supports children's learning and development.

Staff support children who speak English as an additional language well. For instance, they use visual aids to help children learn frequently used words and use translators to provide children with further support when needed. Furthermore, they invite parents in to read stories in their home language, alongside staff reading the stories in English. The managers organise regular events for parents to come together and build relationships with other families. For example, they invite them to celebrate festivals and share their traditional food and cultures. This supports children to learn about the wider world.

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

• The committee, managers and staff have taken action to address the weaknesses identified at the last inspection. For instance, the committee have ensured that all their members are deemed suitable by Ofsted. The highly committed managers and staff team have made improvements to the setting. For example, recent changes to the organisation of mealtimes, provides children with a calm and safe environment. Managers and staff benefit from new supervision procedures such as, regular one-to-one meetings. Furthermore, they are supported to access a wide range of training. Staff comment that they feel valued and well supported by managers.
• Managers and staff work well together to deliver an inclusive curriculum, that provides consistent support for all children. They ensure that additional funding is used well, to provide support and experiences that extend the children's learning. For instance, they have purchased resources to further support children's communication and language development. In addition, they have used funding to provide children with experiences such as, animal handling workshops.
• The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) and managers recognise the importance of early intervention. They observe and assess children when they start at the setting. The SENCo and staff identify when children have gaps in their development or special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They work in partnership with parents and other professionals to make timely referrals and put plans in place to support children's development.
• Staff observe children and plan activities based on their individual interests and next steps for learning. For example, they take the children to the local park to use more challenging equipment to further develop their physical skills. However, at times, staff working with the youngest children do not fully implement their next steps into practice. This means that younger children are not always supported to make the best possible progress.
• The manager and staff recognise the importance of giving children opportunities to develop an understanding of their community. For instance, children frequently visit a local care home and spend time taking part in activities with the elderly residents. This supports children's sense of belonging.
• Staff provide a calm and respectful environment for the children. They give children lots of praise, such as when they tidy up. Staff encourage children to share and take turns. For example, younger children are supported to share the dinosaurs with their friends. However, staff do not always support children to understand the impact of their behaviour on others. This does not fully support children to begin to learn about how to manage their feelings and behaviours.
• Partnerships with parents are extremely effective. The managers and staff work closely with parents, which helps to promote continuity in meeting children's needs. For instance, they provide each child with a toothbrush and toothpaste to take home and complete oral health activities in the setting. Staff provide parents with regular updates about their children's progress and how they can extend their learning at home. For example, they have a selection of home learning bags for parents to loan.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff working with the younger children to provide engaging activities that support children's next steps for learning
• strengthen the behaviour management strategies to support children to learn more about feelings and how their behaviour impacts others.