St Malo Under Fives Centre

Inclusion: Expected standard

Staff identify, assess and meet the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including children who speak English as an additional language, those who are disadvantaged and children known to social services. Staff know children well and use ongoing assessment to identify individual needs. They work closely with parents, carers and external professionals to ensure that children receive timely and appropriate support.

Leaders take effective action to reduce barriers to children's learning and wellbeing. They make reasonable adjustments and provide targeted support so all children can access the curriculum fully. Inclusive practice underpins the setting and ensures that every child feels valued and supported.

Leaders monitor children's progress carefully and review the effectiveness of support. They evaluate the impact of strategies and adapt provision where needed to ensure that children continue to make progress. This close oversight ensures that support remains responsive to children's changing needs. Although support is typically effective, leaders should provide targeted training for staff to best support children's individual SEND needs.

Children with SEND or who are disadvantaged benefit from well-planned strategies that help them make progress from their individual starting points. Children in social care receive consistent and effective support. Managers maintain strong partnerships with social services and other agencies. Leaders monitor the use of additional funding to ensure that it has a meaningful impact on children's learning, development and wellbeing.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

The curriculum meets the learning and development requirements of the early years foundation stage and reflects leaders' shared expectations for children's learning. Staff deliver the curriculum consistently and provide a broad range of experiences that support children's development across the prime areas. Teaching is effective and underpinned by positive relationships and purposeful interactions between staff and children.

Staff prioritise children's communication and language, and older children speak with confidence, explaining and naming animal noises they hear during a game. Staff model clear speech, introduce new vocabulary and encourage children to share their thoughts and ideas. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities effectively by adapting activities and providing targeted support so all children make progress.

Staff promote children's social and emotional development. Children feel safe, develop secure relationships and learn to manage their emotions and behaviour. Staff encourage independence, resilience and positive social skills. For example, children take turns to serve themselves fruit and milk at snack time. Staff also promote physical development, helping children build strength, balance and coordination through outdoor play, such as using a balance beam.

Children develop early mathematical skills through play, such as puzzles and matching games. However, staff do not yet consistently build on this learning. Leaders should monitor planning and practice closely to ensure that staff include mathematics in daily activities, strengthening teaching and children's understanding of early mathematics.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children make steady progress across all areas of learning. Staff support children to become confident communicators. Pre-school children use a broad vocabulary to express ideas clearly, while younger children explain their needs, for example identifying when a toy is 'messy' and needs cleaning. Children develop a love of books listening to staff read stories. This supports their early literacy and language development.

Children form positive relationships, take turns and show kindness. Creative and physical development are promoted through purposeful play. Children make paper fans with sticker decorations, explore imaginative role play in costumes, and develop fine motor skills by picking up pom-poms with tweezers.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are disadvantaged and those known to social services receive effective support to reach developmental milestones. As a result, all children achieve well from their starting points and are prepared for the next stage of learning, including school. A stronger focus on mathematics would support children's readiness for the next stage of learning even more.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders create a nurturing, positive and inclusive environment for all children. Staff establish clear expectations for behaviour and consistently support children to be kind, respectful and cooperative. Positive relationships between staff and children underpin this approach, helping children feel safe, confident and valued. The key-person system ensures that children receive consistent care and emotional support, promoting secure attachments and wellbeing.

Established routines help children develop independence and a sense of responsibility. For example, children serve themselves at snack time, tidy resources after activities and follow daily routines confidently. These routines, alongside clear expectations for behaviour, give children a strong sense of structure, supporting their confidence and engagement in learning.

Children demonstrate positive attitudes towards learning. They show curiosity, enthusiasm and persistence during activities and enjoy exploring new experiences with friends and adults. Staff adapt routines to ensure that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or additional needs, are supported to participate fully.

Leaders monitor and celebrate children's achievements, fostering a culture of encouragement. They recognise the importance of attendance and punctuality but should communicate this further with parents to ensure that all children benefit from consistent access to learning.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing and ensure that staff understand their role in supporting each child. Established daily routines and positive, trusting relationships between staff and children help children feel safe, secure and confident. Staff know children well and build positive, trusting relationships with them. Children feel safe, supported and confident to engage fully in learning.

Staff support children to manage emotions, develop social skills and build resilience. For example, they help children to persevere when they struggle to put on their raincoat independently. Children develop a wide range of physical skills during daily outdoor play. Staff promote hygiene and safety consistently. At snack times, children are guided to make positive choices about healthy food and drink. Leaders share nutrition and healthy diet guidance with parents. However, this is not consistently embedded in order to best support children with healthy eating habits, including packed lunches, to ensure that children consistently benefit from nutritious options.

Inclusive approaches ensure that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are disadvantaged and children known to social services, receive the support they need to access activities fully and thrive. Staff adapt resources and activities to meet individual needs, promoting equality and ensuring that every child feels valued. For example, children communicate their ideas and needs effectively using image boards.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders maintain effective links with parents and other early years professionals, ensuring that children receive consistent support both at home and in the setting. Parents' feedback is positive, and parents report that they feel kept up to date with what children do and their progress. Staff report high levels of job satisfaction and enjoy working at the pre-school. Recent changes in staffing and the recruitment of new staff have been managed effectively, ensuring continuity and stability for children.

Leaders have a clear understanding of the setting's strengths and take action to improve it. They routinely reflect on the curriculum aims and the impact of teaching and learning and children's progress to review where changes are needed to make improvements. Decisions made focus on the best interests of all children, especially those who are disadvantaged, known to social care or face learning barriers. Leaders create a culture of inclusion, where every child is valued and enabled to take part so that all children reach their potential.

Leaders provide staff with regular and appropriate training, but it is not yet targeted enough to improve teaching and children's learning further. Those responsible for governance should focus professional development more precisely to help staff enhance practice, maintain high standards and meet the needs of all children more effectively.