The Horseshoe Community Pre-School

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders and staff promptly identify children's individual needs through regular discussions with parents, observations and assessments. They respond swiftly when they notice emerging delays, and they work with parents to ensure that requests for external support are sent in a timely manner. Leaders and staff overall implement effective strategies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This includes working with parents to increase children's hours so that they benefit from a familiar structure and consistent routines. Leaders review support frequently through meetings with staff and tracking children's progress. They work closely with parents, local schools and external agencies. This enables them to ensure that children receive targeted support in their development.

Leaders provide staff with appropriate support to enable them to successfully assess and plan for children's continued learning. They ensure that those with dedicated roles to support children with SEND undertake relevant training so that they have a secure understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

Leaders accurately identify how to use additional funding so that it purposefully targets children's individual needs. This includes providing enhanced ratios so that staff can offer children more one-to-one interventions and small group activities. Additionally, they ensure that all children benefit from regular outings that increase their understanding of the world around them.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Overall, leaders have an accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for improvement. They have embedded a broad curriculum that all staff know and understand well. Leaders ensure that all children, including those who do not attend full time, benefit from various learning opportunities to promote their all-round development. Staff organise the learning environment with care and consideration for children's needs, interests and next steps. This includes ensuring that children have easy access to activities that they enjoy and are familiar with, such as age-appropriate hammer boards. Children readily engage in these activities, which helps build on their physical skills.

Staff generally follow children's interests to build on their learning and development. For example, when children make sandcastles, staff encourage children to count how many they have made. Staff gently support them in saying the numbers in the correct order, which helps them develop their mathematical knowledge. Additionally, staff teach respect for living things, such as handling insects in the garden gently. However, on occasion, staff do not consistently recognise opportunities to build on children's interests in their chosen activities. At these times, children do not fully benefit from teaching that enables them to engage in purposeful learning.

Staff adapt teaching effectively for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities so that it precisely targets their age and stage of development. For example, they use single words to encourage children with delays in their speech to extend their communication skills. Staff use ongoing assessment successfully to identify what children know and can do so they can plan for children's continued learning.

Achievement: Expected standard

Gaps in children's learning are swiftly identified and addressed. As a result, they generally progress well from their starting points and develop an increasing readiness for the next stage of their learning. For example, children who struggle to separate from their key person demonstrate a growing ability to accept comfort and reassurance from other members of staff. Children learn to become confident communicators. They readily indicate their wants and needs, such as reaching out their arms to staff when they want a cuddle. Older children build on their range of words, such as naming different birds they recognise and discussing their experiences with their families.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities progress well in their development. For instance, they show their increasing ability to regulate their emotions under the close supervision and support of staff. This enables children to build on their ability to modify their behaviour.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders establish clear age- and stage-appropriate behavioural expectations. Overall, they promote a positive and respectful culture. Staff generally implement effective strategies to help children develop an awareness of positive behaviour. Staff know children well, which enables them to anticipate when they may need enhanced support to regulate their emotions. Staff show compassion and patience as they help children modify their behaviours, such as by validating their feelings and offering them reassurance. Staff also provide children with appropriate praise, which helps them learn how they are expected to behave. Additionally, staff redirect children's focus, such as when they begin to throw the toys. Staff promptly step in and encourage them to throw the toys safely at a target.

Leaders and staff give children the tools they need to help them regulate their feelings. For example, they use resources that children can look at to identify how they are feeling and give them allocated areas where they can spend time when they want space to calm down. However, at times, the daily routines are not consistently well organised, which prevents children from fully demonstrating positive behaviour. This sometimes results in children showing unwanted behaviour after they have finished eating.

Children show a growing ability to collaborate well in their play, such as building sandcastles together. Leaders promote good punctuality and attendance by tracking patterns, communicating with families and escalating concerns to safeguarding partners when required.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Leaders and staff promote children's physical health effectively by encouraging them to develop their ability to manage tasks for themselves. This includes wiping their noses, cleaning their hands at appropriate times and pouring their own drinks. Staff also ensure that children have opportunities to engage in activities that promote their physical health, such as yoga and climbing equipment. Children readily participate in these activities, which helps them understand how to look after their bodies.

Staff help children recognise and manage their emotions through modelling, speaking calmly to them and using visual supports. Children generally respond well to this support from staff and learn to name their different emotions.

Leaders and staff implement care practices that typically meet children's individual needs effectively. They ensure that they gather comprehensive information from families, which enables children to settle quickly and feel secure. Staff are warm and responsive to children, which helps them build emotional security and strong attachments. However, at times, the mealtime arrangements are chaotic, which does not fully enable children to settle well at these times.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Since the last inspection, leaders have taken steps to bring about the required improvements. This includes ensuring that leaders and the committee understand their roles and responsibilities. They have also focused on embedding a new curriculum that is ambitious for all children. Leaders are reflective and continually evaluate the setting to identify strengths and areas for development. For example, they recognise that they have strong partnerships with parents and external agencies to provide children with consistent care and support. Leaders are now prioritising the development of 'calm' areas and their outdoor space to further enhance children's experiences at the setting.

Overall, leaders provide staff with effective support to enable them to carry out their roles well. For example, leaders spend time working alongside staff in the rooms, which enables them to provide coaching, mentoring and support. They encourage staff to reflect on their practice to enable them to consider how they can strengthen it further. Leaders ensure that staff undertake relevant training, such as supporting children's behaviour. Following this, they have implemented strategies that typically enable all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to better manage their feelings.