Mini Me's Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff welcome children warmly from different backgrounds and abilities. They work hard to improve outcomes for children. Staff are very good at promoting children's independence skills from an early age. They give children plenty of manageable tasks, such as encouraging them to help tidy away the toys and sweep the floor. This gives children a real sense of responsibility. Staff encourage children to take part in group sessions where they have time to talk and sing. Children respond well to this. They enjoy listening and joining in with songs and rhymes. This helps to extend children's vocabulary.

Staff follow the pre-school's safeguarding procedures effectively. For instance, they supervise children closely, inside and outside, which helps them to feel safe and secure. Staff contribute well to children's good health and physical development. They ensure that children exercise daily and have access to fresh air. Children learn to wash their hands to prevent the spread of germs and infectious illnesses. This teaches children healthy lifestyle habits. Staff teach children to play well together. Children listen and say 'I can share this' with my friends to show their kindness and consideration for others. Children are happy and enjoy coming to this pre-school.

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

• The manager recognises the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's social and emotional development. Following this, she works even more closely with parents to help children to manage their feelings and emotions. Parents and guardians agree that this has a good effect on children's behaviour. For instance, their children have learned how to build positive relationships with their peers and adults. Parents feel extremely assured regarding their children's well-being. They value staff's warmth and nurturing approach. This demonstrates a successful parent partnership.
• The manager follows robust vetting and recruitment procedures to check staff's suitability to work with children. She ensures that staff complete safeguarding training so they are up to date with any changes. Staff are able to identify signs that might indicate that a child is at risk of harm or they are being exposed to extremist views. There are clear procedures for reporting concerns to the manager and outside agencies.
• Staff report that the manager provides them with good levels of supervision and coaching. They have completed training which has enhanced their knowledge of how to support children's communication more effectively. This helps children, particularly those who speak English as an additional language, to develop their listening and speaking skills. As a result, children make rapid progress from their starting points. This also applies to children who staff have concerns about their development.
• Staff set high expectations for what children can achieve. They observe and assess children's progress to plan a curriculum that motivates them to learn. However, sometimes, staff do not fully engage all children, specifically those who are less confident and reluctant to play to support their learning further.
• Staff know some children enjoy drawing and making marks. They support this well by providing children with various writing materials, including chalks and pens. Children delight in talking about what they are doing and ask a range of questions, such as 'do you like my rainbow?' and 'do you think my rainbow is pretty?'. Children demonstrate positive attitudes to learning.
• Staff give children lots of verbal praise for their efforts and achievements. For instance, during an activity, they tell children 'good counting' and 'well done'. Children smile and receive this positively. This practice helps to boost children's self-esteem.
• The manager works collaboratively with other professionals to help evaluate the effectiveness of their work. For example, since the last inspection, she has developed the outdoor environment to strengthen the curriculum for literacy. The manager acknowledges that they need to review the arrangements for snack times to establish clear and consistent practices.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• actively engage children who are less confident and reluctant to play to fully support their learning
• consider other ways to ensure that staff follow clear and consistent practices at snack time.