Little Treasures Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive at this warm and welcoming setting. They clearly feel safe and secure as they settle quickly on arrival and confidently make choices about what to play with. Staff have high expectations for children and foster their curiosity in a range of topics. Children have ample opportunities to focus on their interests. For example, they identify their favourite toy dinosaurs and are eager to explain whether they are 'carnivores' or 'herbivores'. Children transport wooden steaks from the role play kitchen to feed their 'meat-eating' dinosaurs. They demonstrate pride in their achievements. Children delight in sharing their learning folders, full of photographs and notes on their individual progress. They tell adults, 'I did it,' as they carefully hold up dough shapes after successfully using a biscuit cutter.

Children behave positively and listen carefully to adults. They readily follow directions at key times of the day, such as putting their waterproof clothes on and lining up to go outside. Staff promote children's good manners well. They prompt children verbally and use sign language to support their understanding. Babies sign 'please' as they point to the snacks on offer. Children are very familiar with the daily routines and develop good self-care skills from an early age. For instance, babies eagerly pump the soap dispenser and learn how to wash their hands thoroughly.

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

• The manager and staff demonstrate a strong commitment to continuous improvement and are clearly passionate about their work. The manager regularly makes plans for changes and improvements across the provision. She gathers feedback from staff and parents to help her identify areas of focus. However, at times, self-evaluation is not sharply focused on assessment or reflection on the impact of the service in relation to its intent or ethos.
• Partnerships with parents are good. Parents speak highly of the setting, praising its 'caring staff' and 'family atmosphere'. They note how their children are eager to attend and that they feel well-informed about their progress. Parents comment on the strong focus on literacy and the love of reading that their children have developed.
• Staff work effectively as a team. They talk about the arrangements for supervision and appraisal which give them access to professional development opportunities and help to support their well-being. The setting employs a 'mental health first aider' as part of its commitment to caring for staff.
• Staff tell stories in an engaging way. They use puppets and soft toys to tell an exciting story about three goats and a fearsome dragon. Children listen intently and later retell key parts of the story as they 'trip-trap' over the wooden bridge in the garden. Staff promote children's literacy skills in the setting and at home.
• They provide a small library for families and regularly send home special bags with books to borrow. Children develop a keen interest and enjoyment in listening to stories.
• Children access a wide range of creative activities and messy play resources. They practise using different tools and develop their small-muscle skills for drawing and early writing. Occasionally, staff deliver activities that are prescriptive and limit opportunities for children to explore, experiment and express themselves creatively.
• Staff know children well. They carefully assess where children are in their development, based on their observation of children and information from parents. Staff use this information to plan engaging activities, which support children's next steps in learning.
• Babies laugh delightedly as they play singing games with staff. They clap and smile as staff sing a rowing boat song with actions. Older children talk about the new songs they have learned. They recall Christmas songs and enthusiastically suggest their favourite nursery rhymes during group singing times.
• Staff skilfully match their language to children's level of development. For instance, they ask babies simple questions, model key words and give them time to respond. Staff teach older children more complex vocabulary for concepts such as 'magnification'. Children delight in experimenting with magnifying glasses. They examine tiny figurines and practise their sorting and counting skills to organise the figurines by colour and type.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus more closely on how effectively the intent of the curriculum and service ethos is implemented when identifying areas for further improvement or change
• enhance opportunities for children to explore, experiment and express themselves creatively.