St Clare's Pre-School

Inclusion: Strong standard

There is a highly inclusive approach to supporting all children. Practitioners work closely with families to enhance all children's experiences. Leaders ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive support promptly. They swiftly create individualised plans, specifically designed to support children to achieve the best outcomes.

Leaders expertly consider the needs of all children. They are knowledgeable and understand the importance of making sure that adaptations to the curriculum are appropriate for each child. Practitioners recognise other barriers to learning, such as when children speak English as an additional language. They strive to provide support to increase children's access to the curriculum. For example, they work with families to support effective translation to ensure that policies, procedures and information are successfully shared. Practitioners also engage with external professionals to support children and families further. This successfully ensures that every child feels valued and included in the settings work.

Leaders have extensive knowledge of the area the setting is located in and the experiences of the children who attend. They are thoughtful and considerate in their approach to understand each family's individual circumstances and how to support them to resolve any barriers to learning or attendance that children may face.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders use their expert knowledge, gained through regular training and research, to plan an ambitious curriculum for all children. They review it regularly and adapt their intentions based on the needs of the children currently in attendance. They ensure the curriculum is consistently taught well. Practitioners purposefully ensure that every interaction is of high-quality. They consistently increase children's developing knowledge. For example, practitioners extend children's vocabularies during activities, such as play dough and water play. They also continually model secure conversation skills. Children receive consistent support for their communication development.

Practitioners enhance learning moments that arise during play to teach mathematics explicitly. For example, children learn about trajectory as they roll balls down guttering that has been purposefully positioned by practitioners. They encourage children to use mathematical language and to think about why the bigger balls might get stuck. Children engage in their learning joyfully.

Leaders have taken account of barriers that children may face to their learning. They provide tailored strategies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Furthermore, they have recently prioritised the implementation of strategies to enhance the support for children who are learning English as an additional language.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children make excellent progress from their starting points. For example, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities demonstrate a confident ability to communicate with sign language. All children achieve successfully across the different areas of learning.

Children develop the skills they need in preparation for school. For example, they are notably independent. Children recognise that they need their coats for outside and prepare themselves with hats and gloves appropriately. Furthermore, children develop a secure understanding of routine and highly positive attitudes to their learning. They confidently know what comes next and happily follow instructions provided to them. Children engage closely with explicit mathematics teaching. They begin to develop an understanding of numbers and excitedly match numbers and objects.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Practitioners consistently enable children's positive behaviour. They build meaningful relationships with children and implement routines that are noticeably well embedded. This helps children to feel safe, comfortable and to know what comes next. Leaders drive a respectful culture where practitioners ensure that impactful interactions teach children simple rules and expectations. Practitioners are prompt to sensitively address any unwanted behaviour that may arise. They are mindful in their approach and consistently use age and stage-appropriate strategies to support children to understand the impact of their actions on others. For example, they talk to children about using 'kind hands' and teach them about their emotions. Practitioners are skilful in using strategies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to understand these expectations. They use methods that are specifically tailored to children's individual needs. Children develop positive attitudes and play harmoniously with one another.

Leaders recognise how barriers to children's learning can impact their attitudes towards their learning. Practitioners work closely with parents to prioritise children's attendance and punctuality. They support parents to understand the importance of attending regularly to support children's ongoing achievement and understanding of routine in preparation for school.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders successfully ensure that routines are embedded and well understood by all children. When children arrive, they confidently wave goodbye to their parents and happily place their coats and lunch boxes away. They demonstrates their developing independence skills as they learn to complete these tasks for themselves. Practitioners ensure that children's hygiene needs are met respectfully and sensitively. They support those children who are toilet training closely by having a practitioner dedicated to hygiene support throughout the day. This supports children to feel safe and cared for as they learn new skills.

Children benefit from very effective support to learn about making healthy choices. For example, staff create activities with glitter, water and toothbrushes to spark conversations about good oral health, bacteria and germs. Children listen closely when practitioners explain these ideas to them. Positive hygiene routines embed this learning further. For example, children know that they should wash their hands before eating.

Practitioners use every opportunity to teach children to keep themselves safe. For example, when children notice different symbols on a poster, responsive practitioners build on children's interest and offer age-appropriate explanations. Children learn about 'hazards' and how this symbol can alert them to danger.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders are passionate with a clear and enthusiastic vision for continuous improvement and high-quality education. They have clear oversight for their setting. Leaders recognise how to use additional funding appropriately, for example for children who may be at a disadvantage. They have recently placed priority on enriching all children's experiences through community engagement. For example, they give children opportunities to visit woodlands and to travel on public transport. Leaders have recently developed a partnership with a residential home for individuals with dementia to support young children to have intergenerational interactions. Through thoughtful strategies such as these, children begin to build knowledge about others in the world around them.

Leaders work closely with professionals, including medical intervention teams, speech and language therapists and external professionals, who directly support children with special education needs and/or disabilities. Together, they ensure that effective plans are consistently implemented. Children thrive as they benefit from a shared approach to their education and care.

Leaders have a purposeful approach to supporting practitioners' professional development. Practitioners receive ongoing supervision to enhance their learning. For example, leaders identify teaching that could be strengthened and provide staff with access to training for this. Practitioners feel valued and supported in their roles.