Old London Road Pre-School

Inclusion: Strong standard

Staff value the importance of quickly getting to know children and their parents. Their early assessments of what children already know and understand forms the foundation of identifying existing or emerging gaps in children's learning. Leaders swiftly make plans to effectively adapt the environment or staff practice to help support children's individual needs. This includes providing training and support to enhance staff knowledge. Leaders and staff work closely with parents and other professionals to help ensure their adaptations have a consistently positive impact on the barriers to learning faced. For example, staff learn words and sign languages children are familiar with. This helps to support communication and aids children's smooth transition into the pre-school.

Leaders value children's wellbeing. They create different ways to maintain 2-way communication with parents to help identify any changes in family circumstances that may impact children's emotions and readiness to learn. Through well-considered and sensitive support, leaders help to ensure children continue to play, learn and thrive. Parents describe the excellent communication and support they receive from staff and leaders. They feel valued and very much part of a supportive, caring 'family'.

Leaders use the information they receive from staff and parents to help plan how any additional funding that children might receive is spent to help enhance children's learning and wellbeing. Leaders consider children's interests, stage of development and previous experiences to aid their decisions. Consequently, children build on what they know and understand, helping to close any gaps in their learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders implement a clearly sequenced curriculum. They consider all areas of children's learning, threading these through the outcomes they want children to achieve. Staff embrace the ethos that children should have the support and opportunities to become happy learners, confident communicators and can independently carry out appropriate self-care skills, such as using the toilet, before they leave for school.

Staff incorporate language relating to mathematics in their conversations and activities with children. For example, they point out when the containers young children pour dried rice in are full or empty. Older children observe the differences in worms. Staff talk about the longest and shortest worm. Consequently, children begin to recognise and understand mathematical concepts they need later in their learning.

Staff have a clear understanding of the importance of physical development. They encourage children to strengthen their core muscles while they run, stretch and carry resources. Staff provide activities that aid children's dexterity, such as using pipettes and squashing dough in their hands. This helps prepare children for later skills, such as writing letters and numbers.

Staff swiftly make adaptations to help support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and other barriers to learning. For example, they coordinate quieter times between groups of children sharing the same room. Consequently, children are not distracted by their peers while children listen to stories.

Staff use their assessments of children's progress to help them plan what individuals need to know and understand next. However, the quality of teaching is not consistent across the pre-school by all staff. As a result, children's progress is not always rapidly optimised.

Achievement: Expected standard

All children embrace their play and learning. They respond well to the interactions they have with staff, which contributes to their continued progress. Children listen carefully to the new words staff introduce to them and enjoy joining in with songs and stories. Children have time to work out what they want to say before they respond to questions, helping them think about the words they can use. As a result, by the time children move on to school, they are able to articulate and communicate their thoughts and feelings.

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to their learning, follow their interests. They have time to return to favourite resources and activities. This enables them to practise what they can already do and allows them to experiment and build on what they know and understand. For example, children build a tower with bricks. They watch what happens when the tower topples over. They repeat their construction and work out how they can make the tower more stable. Children stand next to the tower and work out how to make the tower the same height as their friends.

From a young age, children learn how to wash their hands, follow simple instructions and share toys and adult attention. With support, they develop the skills to begin to recognise how they are feeling. They learn to communicate with others and by the time children leave the pre-school they are ready to move on to school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Staff promote the consistent rules leaders have put in place to help encourage positive behaviour. For example, they remind children to share toys and resources. Children find timers to help them manage their expectations of when they can have a turn, contributing to the harmonious environment in which children play and learn.

Staff form strong, trusting relationships with children. They respond to children's changing moods and help children manage to regulate their feelings and behaviours towards others. Children mirror the positive attitudes that staff model. This helps to encourage them to be kind, listen to others and work together. Staff interact positively with children, encouraging them to have a go during activities. This helps to enhance children's positive attitude to their learning.

Staff communicate well with children. When needed, staff support children during times of transition throughout the day, such as preparing for lunch and moving between the group rooms and garden. As a result, children manage the daily routines in a positive way. For example, they willingly help to tidy up and know where to put their lunch boxes after they have eaten.

Leaders recognise the importance of punctuality and attendance. They monitor children's absences to help identify potential concerns. Leaders work effectively with families to help ensure children can continue to attend the pre-school during times of change. This helps children feel secure.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Staff spend time with children to help establish highly positive relationships. Children feel comfortable in the care and company they receive, helping them feel safe and secure. Staff teach children how to wash their hands and talk about other aspects of health and hygiene, helping to establish positive routines and attitudes. Children understand the importance of hydration and know that physical exercise is good for them. Staff support children to take and manage age-appropriate risks. For example, children learn that wet mud is slippy. Older children adjust their speed and balance to move down a slope without falling while younger children hold the hands of nearby staff.

Staff teach children to begin to recognise and name emotions. They help children to find ways to regulate their feelings until children are more able to do this themselves. Staff adapt the environment so that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are less likely to feel overwhelmed. They gather key information from parents and other professionals involved in the lives of children. Strategies to support individual children are clearly communicated to staff to help ensure children are able to settle and resume their play and exploration.

Leaders ensure there is time in the day for regular routines to be completed without rushing children. Children take their time to eat their snacks and lunches. Staff find out from parents about key routines, such as potty training, sleep routines and the use of comforters. This helps staff plan consistent approaches, helping children settle quickly.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Those responsible for the day-to-day running of the pre-school remain in regular contact with those overseeing the governance of the setting. Together, they review the overall quality of the provision, helping to identify key strengths and areas for improvement. For example, following staff training relating to the outside learning environment, plans are in place to enhance the environment to help provide greater opportunities for extended learning.

Leaders place a high priority on ensuring that those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to their learning have the experiences and care to enable them to thrive. Leaders monitor the accurate assessments made by staff and are instrumental in the coordination of external support for children and their families.

Leaders are currently reviewing the effectiveness of methods used for supervision, support and coaching of staff. Staff have access to regular, meaningful training opportunities to help continually improve the quality of teaching. This includes specific training to support children's individual needs. Those responsible for the governance of the pre-school have recently introduced a system for staff to share their ideas and comments. However, there are further opportunities for leaders to enable staff to play a greater part in the development of an inspirational curriculum.