Wingrave Pre School

Inclusion: Expected standard

Through making accurate assessments, staff recognise when children's development does not follow the expectations for their age. From the very beginning, staff begin to make plans to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff use the information that parents and carers share about children's involvement with health professionals to help them to understand about children's needs. Staff make early referrals when needed to ensure that their plans for support are well informed by professionals who support children with SEND. Staff undertake regular training to ensure that they are able to recognise and respond to children's individual needs.

Staff confidently recognise the small steps of progress children make and celebrate these. When children face barriers to their learning, staff are creative in finding solutions to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment. For example, some children have more intensive staff support when taking part in some physical activities to help keep them safe. Leaders use early years pupil premium funding to ensure that children have access to additional sessions and resources. By doing this, staff encourage children's attendance and provide them with reliable and consistent routines that help them to remain motivated and interested in their learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Staff design the curriculum to encourage children to gain the skills they need for when they begin school. For example, they help children to learn how to use tools successfully. Staff model how to use the equipment, such as scissors and pencils, and correct children's grip so they become more skilled. Staff adapt their teaching to ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities have ongoing and appropriate support to take part. However, leaders have not placed a greater focus on supporting children's personal, social and emotional development. This does not fully support children's awareness about ways for them to keep themselves healthy.

Staff provide an ongoing commentary as children learn, which helps to encourage their understanding of communication and language. When children are non-verbal, staff put plans in place to support them, such as using picture boards and sign language. Children demonstrate varied interests, and staff act on this by weaving these interests into all activities. For example, when children are interested in sharks, this evolves into an immersive pirate experience where children practise their balance as they walk the plank, create treasure maps and count plastic rings matching a pirate's number.

Teaching is effective. Staff model, explain and encourage children. They recognise the vital importance of encouraging children's safe learning around technology and provide ways for them to use smart boards and digital devices to enhance their learning.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children typically develop a range of skills that prepare them suitably for moving forward in their education. For example, children become skilled in using tools and grow in independence. They understand social rules, such as turn-taking and sharing, and demonstrate this in their play. Children are confident to recall their knowledge of prior learning and they talk about what they understand. For example, children explain that parrots sit on pirates' shoulders.

Children are very physically active and confident in their body movements. They climb on apparatus and show confidence in balancing and are coordinated. However, children do not consistently understand all their physical needs, such as recognising their needs to eat and drink. Children show their developing mathematical understanding as they recognise numerals and can order quantities of small numbers. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to their learning make steady progress from their individual starting points.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

During the week, children take part in sports activity sessions that have very specific and clearly explained rules. Despite their young age, children understand the concept of teams and listen carefully to rules and follow them well. Children gain a sense of achievement as staff and the coaches praise them and their sporting efforts. Children are confident to explain other rules. For example, they understand when moving around the school site to use the hall that they must be quiet as older children are busy learning. By understanding the reasons for staff's expectations, children are willing to follow them and behave well. However, rules and expectations for children around mealtimes are inconsistent and overly rigid. This gives children mixed messages, which are confusing for them.

Staff act quickly if children's attendance becomes a concern. Children's regular attendance helps them to know and understand the pre-school's routine. Children show a positive attitude towards their learning. Where needed, staff adapt expectations for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to ensure that they too understand about rules and cope well when there are unexpected changes in the routine. On the whole, staff interact positively with children.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

There are inconsistencies around how staff manage mealtimes. As a result, children do not consistently learn about how to identify their own needs. For example, they are not encouraged to recognise when they have eaten enough to fulfil their appetite and when they need to drink because they are thirsty. Sometimes, staff's approach to encouraging children when they eat is not supportive enough to promote their positive attitudes towards healthy eating. Furthermore, sometimes, food children have at the pre-school contains a high sugar content. There have been ineffective relationships with parents and carers to address concerns around mealtimes at pre-school. Some parents remain concerned about what staff are teaching children about eating all foods, regardless of when they feel full.

Children establish close relationships with their key person. Staff know children well and understand how to support their positive sense of security. They teach children about their different emotions. Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is appropriate to ensure that they feel safe and secure at the pre-school. During the daily routine, children have ample time to play outdoors, where they enjoy testing out their physical skills. Staff encourage children to become independent and confident in meeting their own personal needs.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

Although leaders have reviewed the provision and made some changes to policies and procedures, their oversight has not identified the underlying causes of weaknesses. Leaders have not supported staff sufficiently well enough to identify where improvement is needed. Staff have not established positive and professional relationships with all parents and carers. Without effective partnerships, sometimes, there is a breakdown in communication and some parents have a lack of trust in some aspects of the provision. Although leadership responds to complaints and concerns, leaders have not taken sufficient action to alleviate parents' concerns and promote all staff's wellbeing. For example, parents' concerns around mealtimes have not been adequately investigated to establish where improvement is needed.

Leaders acknowledge there needs to be a thorough review of how staff manage mealtimes, but they have not been swift enough in taking action to address concerns. The committee members who lead the pre-school show a willingness to act and improve the provision. Staff undertake regular training to support them in their roles. Leaders are committed to ensuring that children who experience barriers to their learning and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive the right support they need to progress and enjoy their learning.