St Lukes Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are very warmly welcomed into this very well-established, outstanding and vibrant pre-school. Children leave parents with great enthusiasm when they first arrive. This shows they feel tremendously safe and emotionally secure. Younger children who need extra help to settle are reassured by extremely attentive staff. Key staff thoughtfully lead some children by the hand on arrival. They give children lots of reassurance and support the youngest children's needs to the highest level. This helps all children to settle quickly and to further promote their emotional well-being.

Children learn key skills and they are exceptionally well prepared for when they move on to school and for their future success. For example, children learn to write their names, count and subtract numbers beyond 10. They independently use the toilet and wash their hands, cut fruit during snack time and wipe their own nose to further promote their self-help skills. Children behave exceptionally well. For instance, children keenly share favourite toys, wait for their turn in conversation, push chairs under tables and help to tidy toys.

Children are remarkably motivated and eager learners. For example, children enthusiastically explore their surroundings. They keenly look under logs as they search for insects. Children recognise and remember names, such as 'woodlice', 'slug' and 'earwig'. They enthusiastically discover different sounds when they keenly bang metal pots and pans with sticks.

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

• The extremely dedicated manager and long-standing staff team work tirelessly and with integrity, to help all children have the best possible start. The manager ensures that all children, particularly children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, have full access to their entitlement to early education. Key staff work very successfully with other professionals to ensure excellent outcomes for all children. The manager very effectively engages with other early years settings that children also attend and the local schools. This helps to ensure consistency in care and learning as well as a smooth transition to school.
• The manager very effectively uses performance management, peer-on-peer observations, regular supervision and evaluation to help successfully identify staff's strengths and professional development opportunities. For example, the manager successfully cascades training to further promote boys' learning and extend the excellent experiences outdoors. Staff consistently report very high levels of support from the manager, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, for their well-being.
• Parents are kept very well informed about their children's education, learning and progress over time. For example, the key person regularly provides a written summary of their children's progress, including how parents can help and support children's learning at home. For instance, children take home books and activities to further promote early reading skills. During the pandemic, staff read stories to children online and the manager sent folders home full of activities, such as art and crafts, to help children continue to learn while they stayed at home.
• The highly qualified staff team consistently plans a curriculum to provide children with a wonderful, language-rich environment. For instance, staff enthusiastically read a story about a stick man, using props and puppets. Staff successfully encourage children to recall favourite parts of the story to further promote their early communication and language skills and memory.
• Children make excellent progress in mathematics, due to the carefully sequenced curriculum. Staff are skilled in their teaching. They consistently use mathematical language alongside children's play. Children begin to recognise mathematical patterns and understand measurement. They enthusiastically find a tape measure and shout, 'Let's measure!' Staff consistently label numbers, shapes, colours and sizes when children play with dough. Children concentrate as they skilfully cut dough pizzas in half and say, 'It's a big piece.' Children are very keen learners.
• The manager and staff have a clear vision for the pre-school. They have highly effective self-evaluation systems in place to consistently provide outstanding care, teaching and learning. Parents very positively share their views through the use of questionnaires and consultations. Parents speak very highly of the pre-school's care and education of their children. Many parents become emotional as they share their wonderful experiences with the inspector.