Marys Little Lambs Childcare

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children eagerly bounce into this welcoming and secure pre-school. Babies beam at staff as they pull themselves up to standing. They have close bonds with the caring and motivated staff. The manager creates a curriculum to support children to be independent, curious, confident and ready for their next stage of learning. This is planned and sequenced as children move through the pre-school. Staff encourage babies to make simple choices by pointing at or crawling towards toys. As they develop, they start to verbalise their thinking, and toddlers are able to make more-complex choices. By pre-school, children are discussing going on holiday. For example, they decide to make a picnic and work together to make the sandwiches and set out the resources needed. Staff's expectations for children's behaviour are high, and children behave well. Children make good progress and show a positive attitude to learning.

The manager has successfully embedded a reflective culture. This motivates and empowers all staff to continuously look for ways to improve the experiences they give children. Staff closely monitor children's progress and follow their emerging interests, including what they have been doing at home, to improve outcomes further for children. Staff use this information to deliver a well-thought-out curriculum and a learning environment in which children thrive. They plan for what each individual child needs to learn next and help them to make the best possible progress.

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

• Staff are skilled at interacting with children. Children learn new vocabulary and staff improve children's pronunciation of sounds by repeating words back to them. This supports children's speech development and vocabulary to extremely high levels. Children gain excellent communication, language and literacy skills.
• Children are offered an inspiring range of activities that quickly capture their interest, overall. They are confident and display a can-do attitude. They are extremely keen to enjoy the well-resourced outdoor environment, where they engage in riding bikes, using a climbing frame, and balancing on logs and beams. This develops their large muscles and physical skills.
• Overall, the group activities are well planned to build on children's current knowledge and interests, and children are generally well engaged. However, on occasion, the size of the group and the age of the children can make it difficult for children to remain focused. At these times, children stop engaging and lose interest.
• Good support is in place for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff use a range of techniques to support children to understand pre-school routines and their instructions. For example, they consistently use visual cues for children. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to ensure that the plans in place are appropriate and regularly reviewed.
• Staff support children to make good progress in their speech and language development. Staff hold purposeful interactions with children about what they are doing in pre-school and their experiences outside of pre-school. Children hold back-and-forth conversations with staff and their friends. Staff support children to think critically and recall past events during these conversations, such as considering what transport they will go on when they go on holiday. This helps children with their growing vocabulary.
• Parents speak highly of the pre-school. They describe how settled and happy their children are. Partnership working with parents is highly effective. Parents are closely involved in the care that their children receive. A collaborative and cohesive approach is used very successfully. Parents describe the pre-school as 'amazing' and the manager and staff as 'welcoming'. They add that staff 'go above and beyond' to support their children with their learning.
• Children experience stories in a variety of fun and effective ways. They hear stories read to them and work with staff to re-enact them using props. For instance, children actively take turns to put their hand up to recall parts of a story. They link the vocabulary to the activities in the room, such as 'hydrating', 'colossal' and 'vacation'. Children make their own story books and write their name on their book. They name parts of their book, including the 'spine' and 'illustrations'. They acquire superb listening and concentration skills as they discuss their vacations and what they need to prepare for their journey.
• New staff complete induction training, which includes paediatric first aid and safeguarding. The manager carries out regular supervision meetings with staff. During these, staff well-being is discussed. The manager routinely checks the suitability of staff to ensure that there have been no changes in their circumstances that effect their ability to work with children. Consequently, staff morale is high, and this promotes better outcomes for children.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• consider the group size and age range of children when planning activities to embed the curriculum, to support the children to remain engaged.