Longwell Green Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provider has high expectations for all children. Staff deliver a balanced curriculum to support children's learning and development and ensure they all make good progress from their starting points. Staff prepare children well for their next stages of learning, working effectively with parents and external professionals.

Staff know the children and their families well. All children receive home visits and attend stay-and-play sessions before they join to help with the transition to pre-school. Staff use their knowledge of children's individual needs, information from parents and children's interests to provide enjoyable learning opportunities. Children become absorbed as they look for minibeasts in the garden, engage in artwork or sit quietly exploring how to build different constructions with building blocks. Children show positive attitudes to learning.

Children play happily, supported by staff who support and extend their learning well. Staff show genuine pleasure in children's company. They talk to them about what they are doing and listen carefully to what they have to say. Children feel valued. They show a sense of belonging and well-being.

Children form secure attachments with the warm and caring staff, which helps them feel safe and secure. They form friendships with their peers. They play together sharing and taking turns. Children show confidence and independence as they explore the learning environment. Children's behaviour is good.

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

• Partnership with parents is strong. Parents comment positively on the progress their children make and the good relationships they have with the staff. The setting shares information about children's learning with parents to promote continuity of care and learning. Parents comment that staff are caring and that their children love attending the setting.
• Staff support children's communication development well. Children show concentration and enjoyment as they listen to staff read stories and sing songs. Staff use a variety of techniques to develop children's understanding of language, including signing and visual aids. Children show good communication skills.
• Children show pride in their achievements. For instance, they say, 'I wrote my name' and delight as staff praise them. Staff follow the interests of older children who enjoy making marks in preparation for later learning in school.
• Staff support children's personal social and emotional development well. They help children to learn how to keep themselves safe. For instance, children wait for a turn if there are already four children on the climbing frame. Staff and children talk frequently about the setting's expected behaviour and children's emotions. This has a positive impact on children as they learn to manage their own behaviour.
• Staff provide exciting activities for children across the areas of the curriculum. Children show delight as they use different art materials to draw a ladybird, investigate how a mini solar fountain works and play with water and various containers to explore measurement. However, staff are not always clear what they want children to learn from these activities. As a result, staff do not always take into account what children already know and can do to be able to extend their learning further.
• Staff teach children about healthy lifestyles, such as the importance of a balanced diet, oral health and hygiene practices. Children have good opportunities to develop their physical skills. They freely access the garden where they enjoy running, balancing, playing with balls and pedalling bicycles.
• Staff do not promote diversity effectively. They celebrate some festivals. However, this is not sufficient to support children in their understanding of the wider world and of similarities and differences between themselves and others.
• Leadership and management is strong. The staff evaluate their practices regularly. They make targeted changes to achieve good outcomes for all children. For instance, a review of their personal, social and emotional development curriculum has a beneficial impact on children's overall behaviour, due to staff adopting clear and consistent approaches to supporting them as a result. The manager conducts regular meetings with staff to support their well-being and professional development.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• support staff to focus more precisely on what they want children to learn during planned activities to ensure they consistently build on what children already know and can do
• provide more opportunities for children to learn about diversity and lives different from their own.