Little Tinkers Preschool@ Fern Grove

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The management team and staff are very caring and passionate about providing the very best they can for the children attending the pre-school. The supervisor offers children a very warm welcome at the main door and then staff replicate this as children enter the main pre-school room. This helps children to feel a sense of belonging and at ease in the environment. Children arrive happily and settle quickly, making choices from a range of interesting and inspiring activities and resources. Children really enjoy being creative and show sustained concentration as they work hard on their colouring and sticking, relating to pirates. Children are extremely curious and eager to learn and join in with planned activities. They are highly motivated, concentrate well and engage for long periods in activities that interest them.

The management team has a very clear intention for children's development across all areas of learning. This builds on the pre-school ethos for children to be happy, confident and independent learners. The management team and staff use a loose thematic approach to build knowledge and skills over time. The curriculum focuses on children's physical, communication and personal development and supports them to build the appropriate skills for school or their next stage in learning. Staff know and understand the learning intentions and ensure they include all children, including children who are disadvantaged and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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

• The management team and staff plan and offer a wide range of interesting activities and experiences, which motivate children to join in and play. They are very reflective and evaluate each day so they can change things that do not work and provide more of what children enjoy. The management team and staff ensure they offer children experiences that they might not receive at home. Children have the opportunity to practise road safety, meet farm animals or go on a picnic. This supports children to develop a broad range of knowledge and skills.
• On the whole, staff support children's communication and language well. They use Makaton and visual aids to support children to communicate. Children know and understand these signs and use them during singing and small-group activities. They have recently learned the signs for pirate and flag, linked to the current theme. However, on occasion, staff do not use the correct names for objects or model the correct pronunciation of some words. This does not support children to develop the correct use of English as effectively as possible.
• The management team and staff develop effective partnerships with parents and other professionals. They communicate regularly to discuss children's well-being and any strategies needed to support them. Staff seek initial information from parents about children's current learning when they first start. Staff then build on this to decide on children's next steps and to suggest any learning that parents can offer at home. This helps to offer consistency for children and enables parents to feel included in their child's learning journey.
• The management team and staff know the children extremely well and understand their needs. In turn, children understand the pre-school rules and staff's expectations of them. Children behave extremely well, showing excellent manners and that they understand why it is important to use these. When there are minor squabbles over toys, staff support children to negotiate and share. Staff use the 'colour monsters' to help children to begin to define their own emotions and those of others. This supports children to develop their own resilience and empathy for others.
• Children understand the setting's routines. Staff use a tambourine and a five-minute warning to help children prepare for a change, such as group time or snack time. However, the pre-school routines are not consistently effective, as, on occasion, the younger children disrupt the small-group learning of older children. Nonetheless, children recover quickly and continue with their activity and learning.
• Staff identify that some children are fascinated by letters and numbers. They support this effectively by providing opportunities, throughout the provision, for children to see letters, words, numbers and patterns. Children are also able to make their own marks and copy letters and numerals if they wish. This supports their emerging early mathematics and literacy skills.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to consider how they model language to help all children learn the correct pronunciation of words to support their language development even further
• review and adjust daily routines to ensure they do not have a negative impact on children's learning and development.