Lucky Ducks Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff welcome children and families into their inclusive and inviting setting. Children demonstrate that they develop positive relationships with staff. For instance, they rush to greet them with open arms, as they arrive at the start of their session. The manager and staff understand what it is that they want children to learn. They complete regular observations and assessments to help them identify what children need to learn next. There is a strong focus on helping children to develop good personal development skills and become confident learners. Staff offer positive comments and sensitively join in with children's play. They are enthusiastic when children create models and proudly show their work. For instance, they applaud children's efforts when they use their hand-eye coordination to successfully join large objects together on long pieces of thread. This helps children to develop good levels of self-esteem. Children's behaviour is excellent. They show good listening and attention skills, and kindness towards others. This helps children to form strong friendships with each other.

The manager and staff work closely with teachers from the onsite school, to help to ensure smooth transition arrangements are in place for children ready to start school. This includes teachers visiting children at the setting and arranging short introductory sessions into school. The manager and staff share information to help to provide a continued approach to meet children's individual needs.

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

• The manager evaluates the setting well. She works with the local authority to help her to ensure staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities. She seeks the views of staff, children and parents to help her to identify key priorities of the setting. The manager reviews children's learning and development needs and identifies any development areas. This helps her to continue to provide good-quality care and education for children.
• Children benefit from exciting activities that help them to develop good physical skills. For instance, they spend time in the large pre-school garden, laughing as they run up and down a large hill with their friends. Children roll small tyres down a hill and watch to see how fast it goes. They learn to blow bubbles and jump to catch these as they float in the air. Children demonstrate good climbing skills as they master the challenges of the climbing apparatus outside. Children concentrate as they play with construction toys. They use their small-muscle control and hand-eye coordination to complete jigsaws and puzzles.
• Staff receive regular supervisions and attend team meetings with the manager. They are highly qualified and demonstrate a good understanding of how children learn. The manager places a strong emphasis on promoting staff's well-being and staff comment that they feel well supported. Staff have the flexibility to choose training courses that they would like to complete. However, training is not specifically targeted to help staff to build on their already good teaching to raise this to an even higher level.
• Partnership working with parents is a key strength of this setting. Parents are highly complimentary about the care and learning that their children receive. They state that they are fully involved in all aspects of the pre-school and children are able to bring library books home for parents and children to enjoy together. Parents are aware of who their child's key person is and compliment the strong bonds that their children form with staff. Parents are provided with activity ideas to try at home. This helps to provide a continued approach to children's learning.
• Children are aware of the setting's routine. They show good levels of independence. For instance, they arrive at the setting, hang up their coats, bags and self-register using their individual tags on a display board. Children help to set the table for snacks and mealtimes. Staff provide children with a range of healthy choices and children learn the importance of following good hygiene practices. This helps children to keep themselves healthy.
• Staff promote children's good communication and language skills through stories, songs and rhymes. They regularly talk to children and encourage them to remain engaged in their play and learning. However, on occasions, some adult-directed activities focus on an end product for children rather than the process of learning and children show reduced levels of engagement.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• provide focused training to help staff to build on their already good teaching and to raise this to an even higher level
• review adult-directed activities to support children to remain deeply engaged in their play and learning.