Longford Pre-School Playgroup

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The manager and staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and are successful in helping them learn how to manage their feelings. Children learn strategies such as how to manage feelings of anger and how to respond when a friend has upset them. Staff use a consistent approach to help children learn to share and take turns. Children show they feel happy, safe and secure in the care of the staff, who are attentive and kind.

All children progress well from their starting points, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff provide all children with individualised learning programmes and targeted interventions to help them progress well. For example, during communication and language group sessions, staff successfully help each child to progress towards their developmental milestones. This includes practising the sounds in words, having the confidence to share their ideas and taking turns during an activity with a small group of friends.

Children are well-motivated to learn. Staff make good use of daily routines, such as snack time, to help children to practise their skills and gain new knowledge. Children pour their own drinks and notice that the jug of milk is 'heavy' and 'full'. Staff help them to learn mathematical language to describe a 'cube' of cheese.

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

• The manager carefully reviews the service and continuously looks for ways to further improve. They have recently extended the provision for children's physical development so that they can provide a wider range of physical activities indoors and outdoors. The pre-school committee is committed to ongoing improvements, such as renovation projects and maintenance of the buildings.
• The manager provides staff with effective ongoing supervision, guidance and training. Recent training has helped staff to extend their knowledge of supporting children with SEND and helping children with language delay. This has had a positive impact on children's progress.
• Staff make good use of their observations and assessments of children to plan for their learning. They use this information to make timely referrals so that children with SEND receive further support from outside agencies. The manager has extended the communication with other settings where children attend so that information is shared frequently to provide continuity for children's learning.
• The manager has developed a progressive curriculum that helps children to build on their knowledge and skills, for example to build greater strength and sense of risk for older children when they access the physical development resources. However, she has not identified where aspects of the curriculum and teaching can have an even higher level of ambition to challenge children fully in their learning.
• Children develop a love of reading and writing. While writing Christmas cards, they concentrate as they identify the first sound in names and write the corresponding letter. Children are proud of their achievements and announce, 'I'm so good a writing.' Children thoroughly enjoy reading books to themselves and listening to stories. They frequently take books to staff for them to read. However, staff have not designed the learning environment to ensure that children can practise their reading and writing skills through a wide range of their play interests.
• Children enjoy the company of their friends and are sociable. They develop storylines in their role play, such as playing schools. Children take it in turns to be the teacher. They make links with their own experiences and serve food in the home corner.
• Staff support children's health well. Children learn about making healthy food choices and enjoy the nutritious snacks provided at the pre-school. Children learn about the importance of keeping hydrated, good oral hygiene and limiting the spread of germs when they blow their nose.
• Partnerships with parents are strong, and parents speak highly of the care and support they and their children receive from the pre-school staff. They appreciate the guidance provided by staff so that they can support their children's language development at home.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend the curriculum and teaching further to provide children with an even higher level of challenge in their learning
• enhance the learning environment to increase opportunities for children to use their literacy skills across the pre-school.