Little Stones Pre-School and Out of School Clubs

Inclusion: Needs attention

Leaders work well with parents to ensure children's individual needs are identified when they begin at the setting. Some children face barriers to their learning and leaders take steps to seek additional support to help reduce these barriers. However, in practice, this is not consistently implemented. While staff know their key children well and plan activities to help build on gaps in their learning, other staff do not understand what it is that these children need to learn next or use interactions well enough to support their development. This means progress for children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, is inconsistent. Furthermore, leaders have not identified this and have assumed that all staff support children to make the progress they need to be ready for their next stage of development.

Leaders and staff use additional funding well to provide further resources for children. For example, through the purchasing of a large sand pit. Staff state this is to allow children to explore the feel of sand and develop their imagination further. Leaders do not measure the impact of the use of this additional funding and how this impacts on children's progress. As a result, gaps in children's learning have not been identified, impacting on the progress they make.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

Leaders do not ensure that every child can access activities to enhance their learning and development. Planning is not well targeted, and some staff are unsure of how to support children's learning and development effectively. These gaps lead to some children becoming disengaged and wander from one activity to another without staff considering how to help them engage.

Staff do offer children a range of activities, both inside and outside, to ensure children can play and have fun. Staff ensure that children have opportunities to develop their physical skills. Children show developing hand-eye coordination as they use glue sticks and sprinkle glitter onto paper.

Teaching can be inconsistent and lacks the support children need to learn as they play. During a bug hunting activity, staff do not offer enough to help children practise their speaking skills. However, when teaching is positive, children engage well and show they are learning. For example, staff encourage children to use their speech during role play. They ask children what they are 'cooking' and ask them the ingredients they have used; children respond well. This helps to develop children's communication and language skills.

Achievement: Needs attention

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve some progress from their starting points. Children develop large motor skills as they run and climb in the garden. They enjoy making marks on paper and building towers, showing developing dexterity and control. Children begin to gain some of the skills they will need for their eventual move on to school, such as putting on their coats for outside play and hanging their bags on pegs. Generally, older children learn to use their speech to express their wants and needs and some are developing listening skills effectively. Older children enjoy chatting to their friends as they sit quietly looking at books together. However, children, including those with SEND, are not making the progress they could because of weaknesses in the curriculum and teaching.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Most children engage well with the daily story session to help promote their enjoyment of books, but some struggle to focus and listen, leading to them wander off and play with other equipment. Staff do not always react to this which does not help children to develop positive attitudes to learning or understand the expectations of the setting.

Leaders and staff work hard to build positive relationships with children and their families. Leaders take time to speak with parents about the importance of attending regularly and of the impact this can have on children's learning and development. Staff give positive messages to children about their behaviour and use praise and encouragement to promote children's self-esteem. When children do play together, this is positive and it is clear that staff help them to learn how to share and take turns in their play. Children clearly enjoy attending the setting and older children develop positive friendship groups.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

Although staff manage risks to children appropriately in the main, leaders do not recognise the potential risk of unknown adults being able to gain access to the outside play area. While the gate does have a lock applied, this is on the outside of the gate and could be easily opened by unknown adults. Staff do supervise children in the outside play area, but leaders and staff have not considered the potential risk to children linked to this gateway.

Children build secure and positive relationships with staff in the setting. Staff meet children's individual care needs well. This includes those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, when staff change nappies, they ask the children if they can do this and guide them gently to the bathroom to offer privacy and dignity in this task. This helps them to feel settled and secure in the setting.

Children are offered healthy snacks in the setting, such as fruit and crackers. Staff sit with children at mealtimes and talk to children about the food they eat and how these promote their good health.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

Leaders do not have an effective oversight of the curriculum and there is little monitoring of the quality of teaching in the setting. This has led to inconsistent progress in children's development. Furthermore, not all aspects of safety are addressed and there is no deputy manager in place. That said, with reflection, leaders show an awareness of what they can do to manage these issues, such as safety.

Leaders identify that some children have barriers to their learning. They take positive steps to help children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to get the most appropriate and targeted support, through outside agencies. Leaders work well with parents and carers to share ideas on what will help children to continue to develop their skills outside of the setting, such as potty-training tips.

Leaders complete supervision of staff to talk about workloads and practice. Staff comment that they feel they have a work-life balance and are given time to record observations on children's progress. However, they also comment that training to improve practice has not been completed for some time. Leaders recognise this and can see this has had an impact on the consistency of teaching.