Ludgershall Preschool

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children flourish in this exceptionally caring setting. Deeply nurturing staff make sure that children feel safe and valued. Children behave extremely well and are considerate of others. Staff sensitively help children to recognise and express their feelings, such as frustration at sharing a favourite toy. Staff are wonderful role models and skilfully show children how to resolve conflicts in a friendly way, such as inviting others to join their play.

Children are deeply absorbed in their valuable play. Staff plan stimulating activities that capture children's imaginations and stimulate their curiosity, such as designing and building with junk materials and linking this to favourite stories. They build on children's prior knowledge and skills. For example, children choose to spend a great deal of time negotiating an obstacle course. Staff have built this at just the right level to provide some challenge while also enabling children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to experience the thrill of completing it successfully. Children speak with growing fluency and confidence. Staff model and explain unfamiliar words, such as 'comparison'. They plan opportunities for children to use these words, such as looking closely at, and comparing, different flowers. Children build an impressive vocabulary and knowledge of the world around them. Staff have very high expectations of them all. Consequently, all children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds and children with SEND, make rapid progress.

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

• Starting with an initial home visit, staff build exceptional partnerships with parents. Parents have the highest praise for the pre-school, in particular the exceptional care that staff give to their children and their families. One parent said, 'They have gone above and beyond what I would ever have expected.' Staff make time every day to talk with parents. They use various other methods of communication so that parents feel welcome in pre-school and are very well informed about their children's progress. Parents appreciate the advice that staff offer and the toys and books that staff lend to help them support their children's learning at home. This significantly benefits children's development.
• The senior staff and committee value their skilled staff team. They support staff's continual professional development. The manager leads by example, as she gains higher qualifications herself. Staff speak passionately about new ideas they have adopted and how these have benefited children. There is a strong ethos of self-reflection and learning. Training is targeted to meet individual staff or children's learning needs, for example, to support children's mental health and children with autism spectrum disorder. Staff constantly consider what it is like for a child in their setting. For instance, they sometimes hold meetings outside to experience what that environment feels like. Leaders meet regularly with staff to discuss their progress and well-being. Staff say they are proud of the pre-school and enjoy working here.
• Staff ensure that children securely gain the skills and knowledge they need to give them a firm foundation for their future learning. For example, young children learn to focus and concentrate within a group. As they develop this key skill, they are captivated by the fascinating objects that staff present from the bucket. Older children become engrossed in their own play and confidently share their thoughts and ideas with others, for example as they decide what ingredients they will need to make spider cakes in the mud kitchen. The curriculum is clearly sequenced so that children consolidate and build on existing skills and knowledge.
• Children demonstrate enormous satisfaction in their own achievements. Staff offer enthusiastic encouragement as they urge children to 'try again, you can do it'. The youngest children learn to put on their shoes and to check they are on the right feet. Older children manage the toilet and wipe their own noses, using the mirror to check they have done a good job before binning tissues. They skilfully pour drinks and wipe up any spills themselves. Children are full of confidence and extremely independent.
• The highly skilled staff make valuable use of every learning opportunity. They weave mathematics throughout children's play. While planting seeds, staff make a game of encouraging children to quickly estimate how many pots there are. Children love this challenge and are very good at it. They vote with counters to decide which book they will share. They compare the piles of counters and accurately estimate and then count to check their answer. Children use their rapidly growing knowledge in many practical ways.
• Children thrive despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff recognise the impact of social distancing, especially on children's personal development. They offer exceptional support through their well-established key-person system and are successfully helping children to catch up.