Little Squirrels Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter the pre-school happily and confidently. Staff greet each child individually and provide them with a warm hug. They encourage children to share their experiences and photos from home, and staff listen attentively. Staff plan the curriculum well and incorporate children's interests and needs to support children's learning. For instance, children skilfully retell the story of 'The Three Little Pigs' outside using props such as real straw and foam bricks. They introduce the new vocabulary they have learned into their play, such as 'cement', as they work together to build the brick house from the story.

Children behave exceptionally well. They spontaneously nominate their peers for their acts of kindness. Children then place a painted handprint onto the 'kindness tree', where everyone celebrates their achievements. Staff support children's personal and emotional skills exceptionally well. They use additional funding to attend training to support children in this area of learning. For example, staff use novel ideas to help support children's awareness and understanding of feelings. Children relate extremely well to 'Harry the Hedgehog' when they talk about why Harry may be feeling sad, happy, angry or excited. They link these feelings well to their own emotions and learn how to manage these effectively.

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

• Children have a highly positive attitude to learning and persevere in all that they do. Younger children learn how to use wooden pegs to hang dolls' clothes onto the toy washing line. They watch staff attentively as they skilfully model this task and then encourage children to manipulate the peg independently in different ways until they succeed.
• The pre-school has strong links with other professionals in the community. Staff invite a variety of specialists to share their knowledge with the children. For instance, children learn about the importance of bees and how to make beeswax candles. Bilingual teachers support children in learning different languages, and animal experts bring in a variety of mammals and insects to develop children's knowledge of the natural world.
• Children enjoy whole-group times with their peers. Staff encourage children to talk about what they have learned during the session, and children confidently share their views via a voting system. At times, there is lots of background noise, such as the movement of tables as other staff set up for lunch. This sometimes distracts the children from learning, and occasionally they become disengaged.
• Staff read plenty of stories to children during the day. They also encourage children to take books home to support their early reading skills. Staff and children talk about the pictures, such as nocturnal animals and different animal families. Staff help children to think about their own families and how each one is unique. Additionally, staff ensure children from military backgrounds have additional support to help them feel secure when loved ones are away.
• Children enjoy contributing to the pre-school's large 'floor book' where they add their own writing and drawings about what they have learned, such as their favourite tales or times of the year. Children also use their skills during their play, such as attempting to write the letters in their name or making pictures using stencils. However, occasionally, not all staff model and help children to use writing tools effectively to further improve their literacy skills.
• Staff ensure children feel prepared for their move to school. They liaise well with headteachers and discuss how to improve children's mathematics, for example. Staff provide school uniforms in the role-play area for children to dress up in. Additionally, they make specific books linked to each local school filled with photos of teaching staff and the classroom environment. Children feel confident and secure in moving on to formal education.
• Parents comment on the highly supportive staff and how well their child has settled into pre-school. They talk about how staff communication is excellent and how they consistently keep them informed about their child's progress. Parents state that staff have a wonderful manner, provide a nurturing, safe environment and personalised support for their child.
• Staff embrace children's heritage and cultural backgrounds. For instance, they use key words in additional languages alongside English. Children repeat words in French, such as 'cochon' for 'pig' and 'poisson' for 'fish' when talking about different animals.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• organise whole-group times more effectively, minimising distractions to help children remain consistently engaged in learning
• consistently model and support children in using mark-making tools to further enhance their early writing skills.