Little Sunshines Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive confidently and settle quickly in the homely and nurturing environment. They form secure attachments with staff, who are very attentive to their needs. Children choose from a wide range of activities and resources that encourage them to explore and develop their imaginations. They draw pictures of a ladybird that they have found in the garden and discuss where the insect lives and what it eats. Children have positive behaviour and staff reinforce this by being good role models. Children are taught to be kind and respectful to one another. They are given clear and consistent messages by staff to help them to understand what is expected of them.

Staff know the children well and provide learning experiences that reflect the children's emerging interests and individual stage of development. Children happily engage in purposeful play opportunities and develop a positive attitude to learning. For instance, children confidently lead their own circle time and re-enact activities that staff have previously led. Children have opportunities to develop their independence skills. They can dress themselves, pour their drinks and wash up their plates after snack time. This helps to prepare the children for the next stage of their learning and education.

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

• Children's personal, social and emotional development is supported well. They develop a positive sense of self-worth, and their efforts and achievements are highly valued and praised. As a result, children show high levels of confidence and willingness to have a go and develop the necessary skills to start school.
• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who receive additional funding make good progress. The special educational needs coordinator works closely with parents and other professionals. They adapt the curriculum to meet the children's learning needs and provide additional members of staff who can provide individual support.
• Children understand the importance of eating healthily and maintaining good oral health. For instance, they practise brushing plastic teeth on a mouth replica and talk about trips to the dentist. Staff help children to recognise the importance of getting out in the fresh air and exercising daily as part of developing healthy lifestyles. Staff discuss what food is good for the children and teach them to make healthy choices.
• Staff have high expectations for all children and understand how they learn and develop. Staff make good use of assessment to plan for individual needs. They quickly identify gaps in children's learning and put appropriate support in place. Children are keen to learn. They demonstrate their knowledge of early science as they explain that combining blue and yellow paint makes green.
• Management and staff have developed strong parent partnerships. They ensure that they share information effectively to provide children with consistency in their care and learning. Parents speak highly of the staff and comment on how they have built strong bonds with their children. Parents feel well informed about what their children are learning and what the next steps in their development are.
• The members of the management team are passionate about the service that they provide. They evaluate the quality of their provision successfully to make ongoing improvements. For instance, they are currently developing the garden area so that they can provide children with more opportunities to learn about the world around them. The management team supports staff's well-being and professional development. They enrol staff on courses and provide thorough in-house training.
• Children learn through their play and make good progress. They remain busy and play with engagement and curiosity. Staff place a high emphasis on supporting children's communication and language skills. In addition, the management team has employed a further member of staff to support children with their speech and language development. Staff encourage conversations throughout children's play. For example, children discuss the animals they have seen at the zoo when playing in the water tray. However, on occasions, particularly during large-group activities, some children are not as well supported as they could be to develop and practise their communication and language skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• enhance the quality of teaching, particularly during large-group activities, in order to support all children to further develop their communication and language skills.